Emily KowalUpdated June 23, 2026 — 1:09pm,first published 11:28amOpal fares frozen, smooth rides ahead for motorists and commuters By Motorists and public transport commuters are the biggest beneficiaries of pre-poll budget sweeteners.Opal fares for public transport will be frozen for the next 12 months in a bid to ease cost-of-living pressures. Fares have typically risen in line with inflation, increasing by 3.2 per cent last July, and by 5 per cent a year earlier.In another carrot, vehicle registrations for private cars will be cut by $100 for the next year, while those for motorcycles will drop by $80.Motorists and public transport commuters are the biggest beneficiaries of pre-poll budget sweetenersSTEVEN SIEWERTThe weekly cap on tolls for motorists will be lowered to $50 from $60 for the next 12 months while administration charges on toll notices will be scrapped from July 1.Read more here from transport and infrastructure editor Matt O’Sullivan. Latest Posts1.09pm NSW state budget records $2.3 billion deficitBy The NSW government will be in the red for an eighth consecutive year after the Minns government forecast a $2.3 billion deficit in 2026-27.Next year’s deficit is double what was forecast in December, due in part to the government’s $561 million transport affordability package that will temporarily reduce the weekly road toll cap and freeze public transport fares.The NSW government will be in the red for an eighth consecutive year after the Minns government forecast a $2.3 billion deficit in 2026-27.Audrey RichardsonHowever, Treasurer Daniel Mookhey is forecasting a return to surplus the following financial year; if that is achieved it will be the state’s first balanced budget since 2018-19.1.07pm‘NSW succeeds when its people succeed:’ Mookhey wraps up budget speech By Emily KowalTreasurer Daniel Mookhey has wrapped up his budget speech, noting “NSW succeeds when its people succeed”.“Governments’ role is not to replace the efforts of our citizens, it is to empower them, to build the roads, railways, and energy systems that allow them to flourish. To educate the next generation, to uphold the rule of law to protect those leaving violence, to care for people’s health and to create the conditions on the enterprise investment and fair work.”Mookhey said the budget sets to “build a state that working Australians can afford, a state that rewards effort, a state that expands opportunity, a state whose future is ours to choose”.We have analysis and reports coming your way, so stay tuned!Pinned post from 12.55pmOpal fares frozen, smooth rides ahead for motorists and commuters By Motorists and public transport commuters are the biggest beneficiaries of pre-poll budget sweeteners.Opal fares for public transport will be frozen for the next 12 months in a bid to ease cost-of-living pressures. Fares have typically risen in line with inflation, increasing by 3.2 per cent last July, and by 5 per cent a year earlier.In another carrot, vehicle registrations for private cars will be cut by $100 for the next year, while those for motorcycles will drop by $80.Motorists and public transport commuters are the biggest beneficiaries of pre-poll budget sweetenersSTEVEN SIEWERTThe weekly cap on tolls for motorists will be lowered to $50 from $60 for the next 12 months while administration charges on toll notices will be scrapped from July 1.Read more here from transport and infrastructure editor Matt O’Sullivan. 12.50pm‘We must do better’: Funding boost for family and domestic violence servicesBy Emily KowalNSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey has promised to “combat the scourge of family and domestic violence” by improving programs in the state, conceding “we must do better”.“The government will increase core funding for frontline domestic and family violence by 50 per cent over the next four years, the biggest increase ever.”“People looking after people is a core service of government,” said Mookhey.12.45pm‘Freezing your fares’: Daniel Mookhey delivers budget speech By Emily KowalNSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey is delivering his budget speech and has promised that this is a budget driven by “our people’s concerns”.First on the agenda: motorists and commuters.The Treasurer delivers his budget in the legislative assembly. The treasurer has vowed to cap tolls at $50 a week, slash the cost of vehicle registration by $100 for every private car and $80 for motorcycles for the next 12 months.Commuters will reap the benefits of this budget as well.“For the 4.2 million people catching a train, a bus, or a ferry each month, we’re freezing your fares. For the next 12 months, you will not pay a cent more for public transport than you do for today, not on trains, not on buses, not on ferries,” said Mookhey.12.16pmNSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey delivers his budget speech By Emily KowalNSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey is delivering his budget speech. Tune in live right here.12.01pmWestern Sydney plays catch-upBy In May, the Herald’s Parramatta bureau staff examined western Sydney’s infrastructure deficits in our series Stranded Sydney. We focused particularly on suburbs where population growth has exceeded road, transport, health, leisure and school capacity.There is some relief we already know of in this budget:A new primary school and high school for Bella Vista, and five new schools in the south-west.Funding for hospitals and upgrades at Rouse Hill ($910 million), Bankstown ($2 billion), Fairfield ($630 million), and additional beds at Blacktown and Mount Druitt ($120 million).Upgrading Windsor Road at Rouse Hill.Upgrading Elizabeth Drive and Fifteenth Avenue to improve links to Western Sydney International Airport.Parramatta bureau chief Anthony Segaert will examine what the budget delivers for western Sydney when Treasurer Daniel Mookhey speaks in parliament around lunchtime.Read our full Stranded Sydney series here. While parts of Sydney have taken thousands of new homes, the roads, transport, schools, hospitals and leisure space people need are sorely missing.