Protecting NSW Treasury Taskforce | 16 June 2020

This is the fifth issue of our Protecting NSW Treasury Taskforce newsletter and it coincides with the ongoing progressive lifting of restrictions across the State. When we started this Taskforce in March, I don’t think many of us were particularly confident in any predictions on how the pandemic would play out. Nevertheless, we don’t have to look very hard for international comparisons that make us realise how successful NSW has been in managing the public health response. While much of the credit for that goes to our Health colleagues, it has been a truly whole of government effort and one for which we should all take pride from our involvement.  

Despite that success, the economic impacts remain deep and far-reaching and this is where Treasury will step into the primary role. With the initial implementation of the Respond phase largely complete, we are now turning to consider the impact of the initiatives that we have put in place – ahead of decisions over the next few months on whether any of those initiatives may need to continue. 

We are also working through the Recovery phase – with ERC considering a number of initiatives that will help to accelerate the recovery of the NSW economy. You will have seen the Government’s announcement of a $3bn Infrastructure and Job Acceleration Fund which highlights the Treasurer’s focus on jobs being the centrepiece of this recovery. That will continue to be the focus of the Taskforce as we work with other parts of the Department and Government on positioning the State to recover as quickly as possible from the inevitable choppy waters ahead. 

We have two other Taskforce workstream leads who are going on video for the first time, be sure to check out what they say. For this update we have Ian Hamilton leading our Inter-Governmental workstream and Jared Kendler leading our Business Engagement workstream. 

Transcript: Read here 

Transcript: Read here 

Over the last fortnight the Taskforce members have been engaging in ‘Insight Sessions’ held on Friday afternoon. These are regular series of short 30 minute’ ‘Friday Insights’ held with representatives of other governments, NSW Government agencies, and thought leaders. 

Its aim is to provide us broad awareness of the operating environment for those working on COVID-related issues, as well as providing us any additional ideas for our policy toolkit. 

The sessions consist of a short introduction, 15-minute presentation, followed by QnA. Currently we have locked in six insight session with varying organisations and a range of topics as below: 

It has been a very busy couple of months to say the least, and as we keep progressing and reflecting on the outstanding work the Taskforce has been able to achieve, we were brought together this time for a different kind of meeting held on this Thursday as the team joined for a much required virtual “celebrations”. 

From discussing the silver linings of the pandemic to the “show and tell” where we met families, or families in cardboard form to various artist wannabees, it was indeed a very colourful event.  

Meet Lorna Farrar our previous “Oscar Winner”

When did you join the Taskforce ?

Towards the end of March – I managed to get a holiday in prior to the really crazy COVID time, so was back a day and then had a call from David to warn me that the document he was sending out about the Taskforce team had my name on it, so not to be surprised 😊

What TSY Taskforce team are you from?

I lead the Taskforce Communications Team

What are you currently working on ?

Right now we are starting to see the culmination of a lot of whole of government marketing and communications work rolling out – the advertising around businesses reopening and being COVID Safe is now live, so we have been working with the DCS teams to get that up and running.  We’re also working on announcements for this week’s ERC decisions and a speech that the Treasurer is giving next week on the state of the economy. Things have calmed down a little since peak COVID-Crazy time and we’re starting to work out how we transition the recovery work into BAU for the Treasury comms team.

What has been the highlight of working within the TSY Taskforce?

This is really how I love to work…. Give me ambiguity and chaos and give me the freedom and the trust to work out what needs to be done and a great team to do it, and I am in work nirvana 😊

What are you reading/ watching right now?

I am working being a #greatmum and bonding with my 8-year-old daughter who shares my love of reading, so we are both reading the Nevermore series – its great and we can’t wait for the third book to come out later this year! On the TV front, my girls and I are watching Masterchef together and I’ve just finished watching The Great on Stan, which was excellent.  We’re behind on Masterchef, so I’m desperately trying not to read about who has been eliminated ten episodes ahead of where we’re at!

What is/was the first restaurant you went with easing of restrictions?

The café across the road from my house has been open the whole time with limited options and I have been working very hard to help them stay afloat with my extensive amount of coffee drinking.  So as soon as they could seat customers, I booked lunch there, I want to support my local cafes, I know its been super hard for them and I would have been lost during the COVID-Crazy time if they had stopped making coffee 😊

What is one silver lining that you plan to take way from the COVID-19 Pandemic?

I wish I could keep my COVID hermit-style lifestyle, but I know that will be impossible over time. I’ve already started returning text messages again, so it’s a slippery slope from here. It’s been long work hours and craziness and I lost my live in au pair mid-way, which means I’ve had to juggle a lot, however, I have actually really enjoyed the time with just my daughters and I.  We have been cooking together and family time has become more important and we feel like a little team more, which I love.  I’ll definitely be trying to keep that as we move forward. We also got a COVID Kitten (in my photo) so that is definitely a silver lining!

This week as part of our fortnightly Treasury Taskforce Townhall "Employee Recognition" nominations, the following staff have been recognised for their exceptional performance and contribution to the Treasury Taskforce. Congratulations to the below individuals who have been recognised during TSY TF Townhall on 15^th of June:

• Laura Forster - Correspondence lead 
• Joseph Edwards - Risk & insights team
• Darren Bell 

From the nominated individuals, we had one selected winner: Joseph Edwards

“Are you there?”

“Hello? Can you hear me?”

“I’m so sorry, my internet dropped out.”

These phrases are symptomatic of the new Covidian world we all live in. A new normal has emerged and, while many workplaces have been able to quickly adjust due to already using online platforms such as Microsoft Teams, universities have had to learn a new way of working fast.

Empty lecture theatres, virtual classes and international students returning to their home countries en masse are just some of the effects of COVID-19 on the higher education sector.

Although educational institutions can now open under COVID-19 restrictions, most universities have made changes to classes, assessments, exams and campus facilities to reduce the risk to employees and students.

With travel restrictions still in place, many universities experienced a downturn in enrolments for Semester 1 and are now bracing for further downturns in the coming months as some students reconsider continuing with their studies this year.

International education is Australia’s fourth largest export industry, contributing $39 billion in export income each year to the national economy. In NSW, international education supports more than 95,000 jobs, contributing more than $12 billion to the NSW economy in 2017-2018.

A strong higher education sector helps everyone. Universities often lead the charge in research and innovation to improve productivity, new technology that changes the way we do business, and world-class graduates that drive our economy.

However, with economic challenges facing our universities so much of this could be at risk.

On June 6, the NSW Government announced it would guarantee up to $750 million in loans to help universities recover from the impact of COVID-19. 

This package is designed to bridge the gap between the Commonwealth Government’s Higher Education Relief Package and the needs of NSW universities.

The loan guarantee will give our universities access to discounted-rate loans through financial institutions, improving their cash flow and providing a buffer to future economic changes.

We will also work with universities to help them build resilience and future-proof their operations, and work with the sector on building a more sustainable international student market.

Universities can also apply for funding from the NSW Government’s $25 million package for medical research and vaccine trials to help develop a cure for COVID-19.

This is about ensuring the longevity of our world-class university sector, benefitting the impact of the vital research they undertake.

In collaboration with NSW Health, the University of Sydney has already played an important role in fighting COVID-19, collaborating on projects that have boosted the State’s supply of ventilators and the development of a searchable public database of COVID-19 cases.

As we continue to explore ways to reduce the effects of COVID-19 on our health and our economy, the State’s universities could provide a missing piece of the puzzle. We can provide them with a helping hand to future-proof their operations for generations to come. 

• Respond Phase - measures continue to be developed to support sectors and individuals. The Rent Choice Start Safely program announced on Tuesday will provide victims of domestic violence with housing support.  

• A $3 billion capital stimulus plan to support jobs was announced in the last weekend of May. This will support capital initiatives across the sector including transport, roads, education, and health. Further stimulus measures are currently being developed.