Mark Latham has warned the NSW government needs to keep an eye on the budget after a lower than expected surplus was announced.

The $802 million surplus can be attributed to a fall in stamp duty revenue and GST receipts.

The budget includes a record $93 billion spent on schools, hospitals and transport.

The Treasurer has announced net debt is at $8.8 billion but debt levels are forecast to rise to more than $12.3 billion over the next year.

Mr Latham tells Ben Fordham the government needs to avoid a deficit.

“The surplus at $800 million is kind of like a rounding error in the budget papers, so we’ll have to keep an eye on that, we don’t want the budget going into deficit.

“We’re coming to the end of a bit of a golden burst of spending in NSW.

“The treasurer needs to keep a close eye on the books.”

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