Owning your own home is the 'Great Australian Dream,' and an important milestone for many people. It's something we want not only for ourselves, but for our children and grandchildren. But we also know what an enormous challenge it can be. A few years ago, that dream was out of reach for many people. I'm pleased to announce the NSW Government has saved first home buyers more than a billion dollars through our stamp duty concession since July 2017. The First Home Buyer Assistance Scheme eliminates stamp duty for First Home Buyers purchasing a property valued up to $650,000 and provides stamp duty savings for homes valued up to $800,000. The scheme is about giving people a fair go; about making it easier to enter the property market and enabling people to better plan for their future. It is one of several measures designed to improve housing affordability, along with the First Home Owner Grant. The First Home Buyer Assistance Scheme combined with the First Home Owner Grant can save buyers more than $32,000 on the purchase of their property. More than 67,862 home buyers across NSW have so far taken advantage of these savings. What makes this milestone especially pleasing is that the number of people receiving First Home Buyer concessions has more than tripled since these measures were introduced, demonstrating the success of the NSW Government's Housing Affordability package in encouraging first home buyers back into the market.
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$81 million for NSW safe and secure water
This drought is outside the history books, while we continue to invest in emergency water infrastructure we must ensure we are maintaining our regional water infrastructure and investing in the future of our communities. The Program prioritises key water infrastructure projects - from local drought backup systems through to new or upgraded dams to secure water supplies for our regional communities. The NSW Government will continue to work with local councils to provide water infrastructure that improves the lives of over 1.9 million people living in more than 500 regional NSW communities. While local councils are the water utility provider for their communities, the State Government will continue to help them where we can in getting through this difficult time. The Safe and Secure Water Program is a $1 billion regional infrastructure co-funding program established in 2017 under the NSW Government's Restart NSW Fund. Since the establishment of the Safe & Secure Water Program in June 2017, we have committed more than $680 million to 111 projects.
NSW government delivering an affordable and reliable energy future
The NSW Government is committed to delivering affordable, reliable and cleaner power for NSW. The Emerging Energy Program does just that; a $75 million NSW Emerging Energy Program, which encourages private sector investment in cutting edge large-scale electricity and storage projects through feasibility and capital grants. These projects will help show the way for new technology, making it easier for other projects to come online, increase competition and put downward pressure on prices, The transformation of our electricity system is going to drive an energy construction boom, as the projects awarded feasibility grants could see almost $2 billion in private investment. For more information about the Emerging Energy Program visit: energy.nsw.gov.au/emerging-energy
