The NSW government's plan to revitalise the Sydney CBD by shouting people a Friday long lunch in the city has been abandoned.
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Premier Dominic Perrottet announced the $50 million scheme ahead of the 2021/22 budget when he was treasurer in June last year.
The vouchers were to be used like the popular Dine & Discover vouchers, only limited to Fridays, in a bid to coax office workers back into the city.
"It's Friyay in Sydney," Mr Perrottet said when announcing the plan.
There has not been much to celebrate however.
Shortly after the 2021/22 budget was handed down, the Delta coronavirus variant outbreak brought another lockdown.
A time frame on the rollout of the vouchers was never given, and the scheme's cancellation was confirmed on Wednesday in response to questions on notice to Treasurer Matt Kean, answered via Finance Minister Damien Tudehope.
"(The program) was intended to provide $100 in vouchers for 125,000 NSW adult residents to use at Dine & Discover businesses in the Sydney CBD."
"ServiceNSW has prioritised more urgent flood response packages and cost-of-living programs to be stood up in 2022," the response reads.
Labor's treasury spokesman Daniel Mookhey said the government was all announcements and no delivery.
"The Perrottet government loves to announce cost-of-living support and stimulus programs but every single one has been underspent or barely delivered at all," Mr Mookhey said.
"They are finally admitting what we already knew - that this CBD program was dead on arrival."
Australian Associated Press