Advice on legislation or legal policy issues contained in this paper is provided for use in parliamentary debate and for related parliamentary purposes. This paper is not professional legal opinion.
Briefing Paper 01/2019 by NSW Parliamentary Research Service
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This briefing paper provides Members of the 57th Parliament of New South Wales with an authoritative overview of 45 key issues affecting the State in 2019. It examines the demographic profile of NSW and considers the current state of our economy and the ongoing challenges of planning and transport. Other chapters present the latest evidence on key issues for the NSW community such as:
- Health
- Education
- Crime and justice
- Housing
- Environment
- Social issues and
- Political issues.
Key findings include:
- In February 2019, 99.8% of NSW was experiencing either intense drought (26.3%), drought (52.2%) or was drought affected (21.3%);
- Every day, two people die by suicide in NSW. The number of suicides is more than double the number of road fatalities; and
- Since February 2003, the underemployment rate in NSW has eclipsed the unemployment rate. In December 2018, the underemployment rate was 7.8% and the unemployment rate was 4.3%.
