NSW faces unprecedented spending pressures as a result of worsening natural disasters, its budget hit with a 10-fold increase to relief and recovery payments since the deadly Black Summer bushfires ravaged the state six years ago. In partnership with the Commonwealth, the NSW government has spent $9.5 billion on disaster relief and recovery across the state in the period following the devastating summer fires of 2019 This represents a 10-fold increase compared with the previous six years. Before 2019, expenditure averaged $154 million a year. After Black Summer, that has risen to $1.6 billion annually.
