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In this edition NSW Government announces franchising of metropolitan bus contracts Metro West station locations announced alongside EOI for tunnelling works Productivity Commission releases final report into the economic regulation of airports Footscray Hospital shortlisted consortia announced Independent NSW panel releases report on Federal and State financial relations John Holland to build new Chisholm Road Prison SA Water shortlists delivery partners for 2021-2031 contract Industry News Appointments Policy Taskforces and Events

TRANSPORT NSW Government announces franchising of metropolitan bus contracts On Thursday, the NSW Government announced that it intends to competitively tender all remaining Sydney metropolitan bus contracts over the next three years. Among the 13 bus region contracts to be competed are the three remaining regions operated by the State Transit Authority. This announcement will see State Transit Regions 7, 8, and 9, covering Sydney’s Northern Beaches, Ryde, Gladesville, Lower , the CBD, and the Eastern Suburbs, put to tender by early 2020.

Source: Shutterstock Alongside this announcement, the NSW Government signalled its intention to make its bus fleet fully electric.

Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, along with Infrastructure Australia and many other industry participants, have consistently advocated for public transport franchising as a way of improving network efficiency, delivering better services for customers and better outcomes for taxpayers. TRANSPORT West station locations announced alongside EOI for tunnelling works This week, the NSW Government announced the tunnel alignment and the station locations for the project. Seven stations will be located along the new 24- kilometre, twin tunnel, underground rail line between Westmead and the Sydney CBD. Expressions of Interest have been called for the design and construction of the tunnels, stations and excavation works for the Western portion of the project (TSE- West), which comprises 20 kilometres of twin tunnels from

Source: Shutterstock Westmead through to The Bays Precinct.

The TSE-West contract covers all seven stations and the tunnels from Westmead to The Bays Precinct, while a separate contract (TSE-East) will cover the final four kilometres at the eastern end of the alignment. The stations will be located in Westmead, Parramatta, Sydney Olympic Park, North Strathfield, Burwood North, Five Dock, and The Bays Precinct (see Figure 1 below the read more button). A further two stations at Rydalmere and Pyrmont are being assessed as additional options, while the scope includes a service facility in Silverwater and stabling yards in Clyde. Registrations for the EOI process are now open and will close on 4 November 2019. AIRPORTS Productivity Commission releases final report into the economic regulation of airports

This week, the Productivity Commission released its final report into the Economic Regulation of Airports. The Commission has concluded that the current light-handed regulatory regime is fit for purpose, finding that Australia’s four largest airports are not systematically exercising their market power. This reflects the Commission’s findings in its Draft Report released in February 2019.

The final report details 14 recommendations, which include changes to the monitoring regime, and how passenger movements are counted during curfew at . Source: Shutterstock A Federal Government response to the report and the Commission’s recommendations is expected in the coming weeks.

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE Footscray Hospital shortlisted consortia announced

The Victorian Government has announced a shortlist of three consortia for the contract to design, construct, and maintain the $1.5 billion New Footscray Hospital. The project is being delivered as a Public Private Partnership under a 25-year contractual period. The Government is due to announce the winning consortium in 2020, with construction to follow later in the year. The Hospital is expected to be operational from 2025.

The three shortlisted consortia are: Source: Shutterstock Advance West, comprising Tetris Capital, John Holland, John Holland Services and ISS Exemplar Health, comprising Capella Capital, Lendlease and Spotless, and Plenary Health, comprising Plenary Group, Multiplex, Honeywell and Compass.

Expressions of Interest were released in June 2019. GOVERNMENT Independent NSW panel releases report on Federal and State financial relations This week, an independent panel appointed by the NSW Government released its NSW Review of Federal Financial Relations discussion paper. The eminent panel, chaired by David Thodey AO, was appointed in August and tasked with finding ways to provide stable and reliable public funding for the delivery of critical services and infrastructure in a rapidly changing environment.

The discussion paper examines the NSW Government’s future Source: Shutterstock revenue challenges and opportunities and how this will impact service delivery. Critically, the review highlights the decline in fuel excise as a key challenge, particularly in the face of the imminent uptake of electric vehicles. Infrastructure Partnerships Australia continues to advocate for the introduction of a distance-based charge for electric vehicles as a way of providing fair, efficient and sustainable road funding.

Submissions to the discussion paper close on 22 November 2019. The review’s draft recommendations and final report will be published in 2020.

SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE John Holland to build new Chisholm Road Prison John Holland has been appointed as the managing contractor for the $689.5 million Chisholm Road Prison project. The prison is being built next to the existing Greater Geelong prison precinct in Lara, which includes Barwon Prison and Marngoneet Correctional Centre. The project was opened to competitive tender in the middle of the year, led by the Community Safety Building Authority. Construction is due to commence this year, with Corrections Victoria set to manage the new prison once it is operational in 2022.

Source: Shutterstock The new Chisholm Road Prison will be a maximum-security facility. The Government had originally canvassed plans for a capacity of 700 beds, but increased this capacity to 1,248 beds in the FY2019-20 Victorian Budget. This will not change the size of the prison’s footprint, given extra space had been allocated to cater for growth over the next five to 10 years. WATER SA Water shortlists delivery partners for 2021-2031 contract SA Water has announced a shortlist of service delivery partners for its Adelaide metropolitan services for the ten years from July 2021. SA Water will contract for its water and wastewater production and treatment operations, and separately for its network field services.

For the ‘field services’ contract, which covers water distribution and sewerage, SA Water have shortlisted Lendlease, Programmed Maintenance Services, Suez, and Veolia. For the production and

Source: Shutterstock treatment contract, which covers the operation of water and waste treatment plants, Broadspectrum, Valoriza, Suez, and Veolia have been shortlisted. Parties shortlisted by SA Water will now move on to a Request for Proposal. This process is expected to conclude in the first quarter of 2020.

Industry news

Infrastructure Victoria has released its Recycling and resource recovery infrastructure: Evidence base October 2019 report. The report looks at building a better Victorian recycling and resource recovery industry, and provides insights into potential opportunities for investment, new processes and community action. The report calls for feedback on the discussion paper, which will be used to inform the final report. Submissions close 13 December.

Transurban have reached financial close on a $346 million refinancing of project debt for the Lane Cove Tunnel. The financial close was achieved through a five year loan which will be used to refinance an existing facility due to mature in May 2021. The Lane Cove Tunnel PPP has a 33 year concession to 2036.

According to media reports, Helena Water have asked banks to pitch for the $225 million debt refinancing of its Mundaring Water Treatment project in Western Australia. The facility was last refinanced by BBVA and MUFG Bank for $249 million in July 2015 and is due to mature in mid-2020. Helena Water holds a PPP concession on the facility until 2048. Bids are due by the end of October, with a deal to be finalised by the end of the year.

Hitachi has signed an agreement to become the first tenant at the Western Sydney Aerotropolis. Hitachi will build a ‘collaboration and research centre’. Construction of the centre is expected to begin in late 2022.

The Victorian Government has launched the Women in Construction strategy. The strategy includes an online jobs portal for female candidates looking for roles in construction, training programs, and new recruitment standards and practices to be developed by the Master Builders Association of Victoria.

The NSW Government has placed design plans for the new Sydney Fish Market on exhibition until 13 November. The plans include details of the site layout, development controls, and a detailed design of the new fish market.

AEMO has released an ‘international insights’ paper on integration of renewables. The paper investigates other countries’ approaches to renewable integration and proposes learnings for Australia’s energy transformation. The study will feed into AEMO’s 2020 update to the Integrated Systems Plan.

The Victorian Government has announced that the upgraded Cobblebank Station will open on 2 December, as part of the broader Ballarat Line Upgrade. Prior to the opening, new track will be laid and signalling upgrades and works will take place at Ballan, Bacchus Marsh and Wendouree Stations.

The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering has announced the election of 25 leaders to its academy, including Romilly Madew AO, Chief Executive Officer of Infrastructure Australia, and William Cox, Global Chief Executive Officer of Aurecon.

The Victorian Government has signed a new deal to fast track cooperation with China in several areas, including infrastructure. The framework was signed by China’s National Development and Reform Commission and includes the shared objective of increasing the participation of Chinese infrastructure companies in Victoria and creating opportunities in China for Victorian firms.

The Northern Territory Government has released its Preparing the Northern Territory for Electric Vehicles Discussion Paper 2019. The Government is calling for feedback on how the government can best support the uptake of electric vehicles in the Northern Territory, with submissions to close on 17 November.

Kiwi Rail has commenced site surveys on the North Auckland Line project. The surveys are expected to take five weeks to complete. Kiwi Rail is looking to begin hiring consultants for the bridge replacement and tunnelling works in early December.

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Appointments

Anne Pearson has resigned as Chief Executive of the Australian Energy Market Commission. Ms Pearson has spent 12 years at the organisation, and led it since 2016. Suzanne Falvi will act in the position until a replacement is found. Emma Hogan has been appointed Secretary of the NSW Department of Customer Service. Ms Hogan was previously NSW Public Service Commissioner, and replaces Glenn King, who will leave the public service after seven years in senior leadership roles.

Julie Russell and Catherine Scott have been appointed to the National Heavy Vehicle Regulator board. They will replace Peter Garske and Coral Taylor, who will retire at the end of October.

Iris Stewart has been appointed Cardno’s General Manager for Victoria and New Zealand. Ms Stewart previously worked as the Victorian regional manager at BECA.

Lucinda Hoffman has been appointed General Manager (Transport Policy) in Queensland’s Department of Transport and Main Roads. Ms Hoffman was previously Acting General Manager (Strategic Policy).

IFM Investors have hired Jeremy Larkin to lead its move into large scale private equity investments. Mr Larkin was previously Managing Director at JPMorgan.

Tim Reed has been appointed President of the Business Council of Australia. Mr Reed was previously the Chief Executive Officer of MYOB and replaces Grant King.

Liz Savage has been elected to the Board of Auckland Airport, replacing Brett Godfrey. Ms Savage previously worked as Business Development Director of EasyJet and Chief Commercial Officer for Virgin Australia.

Steve Keevil-Jones has joined Arup as Design Manager in their regional water business. Mr Keevil-Jones was previously a Regional Manager for GHD.

Professor Doug Jones AO has been appointed as an International Judge of the Singapore International Commercial Court. Professor Jones was the head of Clayton Utz National Projects practice until 2014, when he retired to become a full time International Arbitrator focusing on construction disputes.

BACK TO TOP Policy Taskforces and Events

Tax Taskforce

with Jeremy Hirschhorn, Second Commissioner, Client Engagement Group, ATO and Rebecca Saint, Deputy Commissioner, Public Groups, ATO

Date: Monday, 25 November 2019

Time: 2.30pm – 4.00pm | Sydney

Location: DLA Piper Sydney, dial-in details are available

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