Treasurer Matt Kean on Tuesday said his first budget was all about "reform to support families and build a brighter future for everyone".
The opposition says the budget is more focused on re-election than reform, with leader Chris Minns fearing an austerity budget will follow if he can't lead Labor to government in March.
Mr Kean said the budget was about driving economic growth, with big spending commitments stretching as long as a decade in pursuit of that goal.
"(The) budget is a 10-year blueprint for prosperity," he said.
It comes at a cost, with the projected deficit for next financial year more than tripling the government's prediction in December, up to $11.3 billion.
Economic growth is projected to be 4.25 per cent over the next financial year and the government still expects a surplus in 2024/25, partially thanks to GST revenue, mining royalties and taxes on foreign investors, gamblers and the company's they bet with rising.
The treasurer will continue selling his blueprint for prosperity on Wednesday when he addresses the Committee for Economic Development of Australia in Sydney, along with Treasury Corp chief executive David Deverall.
Earlier, he visited a Sydney school with Premier Dominic Perrottet, talking up the $193 million worth of back to school vouchers announced in the budget.
The $150 vouchers will be available for shoes, backpacks, stationery and other school-related purchases, for six months beginning in January.Â
"Cost of living is going up and we want to help families deal with the household budget pressures," Mr Kean said.
Mr Perrottet defended the shift to allow first home buyers to skip stamp duty and pay property taxes instead - the first step in his long-held goal to abolish stamp duty.
Mr Minns has called it a never ending tax and warned a re-elected Perrottet government would expand the tariff beyond first home buyers.
"We know that this is not the model that Mr Perrottet hoped to implement in this budget, but if he's re-elected in March, there's no doubt he'll introduce a broad-based land tax on residential properties for every household," he said on Tuesday.
Mr Perrottet said the policy gives first home buyers a choice that could allow them to own a home sooner.
"You can pay stamp duty upfront, or you can pay an annual amount, which is generally in line with what you pay on council rates," he said.
"If the Labor Party want to continue to run scare campaigns, that's a matter for them, that just demonstrates once again that they have no positive vision for our state."
Choosing the property tax option would save first home buyers the hefty upfront cost of stamp duty, but force them to pay taxes on an ongoing basis even after they have exceeded what stamp duty would have cost them when they first bought their home.
The ongoing tax could however give the government more certainty over future revenue.
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