Infrastructure Policies of the Nsw Coalition Government
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INFRASTRUCTURE POLICIES OF THE NSW COALITION GOVERNMENT 28th March 2011 INFRASTRUCTURE POLICIES OF THE Infrastructure Partnerships Australia is NSW COALITION GOVERNMENT a national forum, comprising public and private sector CEO Members, advocating the public policy interests of Australia’s infrastructure industry. FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: BRENDAN LYON CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER INFRASTRUCTURE PARTNERSHIPS AUSTRALIA Level 8, 8-10 Loftus Street, Sydney NSW 2000 PO Box R1804, Royal Exchange NSW 1225 P | 02 9240 2051 E | [email protected] 2 INFRASTRUCTURE POLICIES OF THE NSW COALITION GOVERNMENT Foreword | The election of the O’Farrell Coalition Government in New South Wales offers significant opportunities to get the State’s infrastructure programme back on track. Infrastructure Partnerships Australia (IPA) has prepared this brief analysis of the key commitments and priorities of the incoming government to assist our members and the broader infrastructure sector. In broad terms, the Coalition has shown a welcome appetite and evolved understanding of the key issues and reform opportunities that are required to support a more robust infrastructure programme in New South Wales. Over the past several years, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia has enjoyed a sustained and active infrastructure policy engagement with Mr O’Farrell and his senior Ministers. Of particular note are the commitments to reform the structure and processes of government toward a robust, long‐term plan for the State’s infrastructure. This renewed approach centres on the establishment of Infrastructure NSW. This body will be an executive agency reporting directly to the Premier and will oversee the selection, prioritisation and in rare cases, the delivery of major infrastructure projects. Done well, Infrastructure NSW offers the opportunity to deliver a long‐term and transparent project pipeline – spelling out the investment priorities of the State over a 20 year time frame. The new Government has also announced that it will create a dedicated infrastructure fund to progress the projects identified by Infrastructure NSW. This capital fund, which will be called the Restart NSW fund, will be resourced from the proceeds of asset sales, efficiencies across government and windfall revenues. In terms of major projects, the Coalition has also made significant commitments about its first term agenda. Projects include: 1. A new convention centre PPP in Darling Harbour: The Coalition has already released a pre feasibility and subsequent expert panel’s report about the shape, procurement strategy and timings for the project – which will progress to EOI stage within six months of the election. These documents are both available on IPA’s website – www.infrastructure.org.au 2. The North West Rail Link: The North West Rail Link – first committed to in 1998 – forms the centrepiece of the new Government’s public transport agenda. Estimated at a cost of around $7.2 billion, the project could be delivered as a design and construct, or possibly, as a PPP. 3. A major motorway for Sydney: The new Government has committed to advance the next major motorway project in Sydney. Candidates include the M5 East duplication, M4 East or the F3‐M2 motorway. The Coalition has stated that it will wait for advice from Infrastructure NSW about the sequence in which these motorways should be considered for delivery. 3 INFRASTRUCTURE POLICIES OF THE NSW COALITION GOVERNMENT Clearly, the State’s balance sheet capacity remains one of the greatest challenges in delivering these and other major projects. Undoubtedly, the proposed economic audit will highlight opportunities for New South Wales to deliver better services more efficiently – and also examine how the State’s long‐term project priorities can be funded. We hope you find this summary useful and we look forward to working closely with the O’Farrell Government to drive better infrastructure outcomes in New South Wales. 4 INFRASTRUCTURE POLICIES OF THE NSW COALITION GOVERNMENT CONTENTS PAGE INFRASTRUCTURE PRIORITISATION, DELIVERY, AND PLANNING 7 FUNDING AND FINANCING 10 TRANSPORT AND ROADS COMMITMENTS 12 HEALTH COMMITMENTS 17 SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE REFORM AGENDA AND PROJECT COMMITMENTS 19 ENERGY POLICY 20 WATER POLICY 21 LINKS TO POLICIES 22 5 INFRASTRUCTURE POLICIES OF THE NSW COALITION GOVERNMENT MAJOR COALITION COMMITMENTS AT A GLANCE 1. Establish Infrastructure NSW to independently assess and advise on major projects 2. Establish a new fund, Restart NSW, to fund major infrastructure as prioritised by Infrastructure NSW 3. Establish an Integrated Transport Authority with an independent board 4. Deliver a new Sydney Convention Centre at Darling Harbour through a PPP 5. Build the $7.2b North West Rail Link and complete the $2.1b South West Rail Link 6. Begin either the M4 East, F3-M2 or the M5 East Duplication within four years 7. Widen the M5 South West Motorway through a concession extension 8. Franchise the operations of Sydney Ferries 9. Offer the Sydney desalination plant on a long-term lease to the private sector 10. Build light rail in the Inner West; investigate links in the CBD and beyond 11. Undertake a feasibility study for Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) to the Northern Beaches 12. Undertake a full review and rewrite of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act, including a repeal of Part 3A in favour of a new major infrastructure approval pathway 13. Deliver an integrated smartcard ticket for public transport 14. Increased health funding, including for a new Northern Beaches Hospital 6 INFRASTRUCTURE POLICIES OF THE NSW COALITION GOVERNMENT Infrastructure prioritisation, delivery, and planning a) Infrastructure NSW The Coalition’s proposal to establish Infrastructure NSW incorporates a range of successful principles and processes from bodies such as Partnerships Victoria, Major Projects Victoria, Partnerships UK and Partnerships BC, as well as Infrastructure Australia. Infrastructure NSW will be the Government’s central advisory body on infrastructure. It will have both strategic and operational oversight responsibilities and will be charged with overseeing the formulation of a uniting infrastructure plan for New South Wales. Primary responsibilities of the body will include advising on project procurement, contracting arrangements, delivery and funding models and ‘best practice’ infrastructure delivery, as well improving the State’s bids for project funding from Infrastructure Australia. Figure 1: Functional structure of Infrastructure NSW Source: Infrastructure NSW: Making the right infrastructure decisions and delivering better projects. (NSW Coalition:2010). 7 INFRASTRUCTURE POLICIES OF THE NSW COALITION GOVERNMENT Infrastructure NSW will be tasked to prepare a 20‐year State Infrastructure Strategy. Sitting within the 20 year plan will be a succession of detailed five year infrastructure plans which are linked to the available funding envelope. The five year plan will also inform detailed sectoral State Infrastructure Strategy Statements. These plans will form the basis of a pipeline of future infrastructure projects within the State. The State Infrastructure Strategy will be tabled in Parliament and debated, and approved by the Premier and the Cabinet Infrastructure Committee. Infrastructure NSW will be overseen by a Board drawn from Directors’ General and the private sector; with a majority from outside of government – including the agency’s Chairman. The organisation will be run by a Chief Executive who will also serve as the State’s Coordinator General. The Infrastructure NSW Board will report directly to the Premier. The Board of Infrastructure NSW will also advise on the investment of the Coalition’s proposed infrastructure fund, Restart NSW, with the ability to draw capital from the fund to underpin infrastructure recommendations to government. b) Cabinet reporting framework The Coalition proposes to introduce a Cabinet reporting framework for all major infrastructure and service commitments. The process will include: independent verification of Treasury costings; clear statements on the impact of costings on forward budgets; quarterly or monthly project progress updates direct to Cabinet, detailing time and any project cost variations; and quarterly Treasury fiscal reports to Cabinet. c) Public Service Commission The NSW Coalition has committed to re‐establish the NSW Public Service Commission to improve the integrity, performance and accountability of the State’s public sector workforce. The NSW Public Service Commission will drive improvement through the following initiatives: monitoring, auditing and enforcing compulsory public advertisement of all public sector positions; reviewing and reporting on agency performance against standards for public sector recruitment and selection processes; and conducting independent investigations into employment actions to ensure they have been objective and fair and not subject to patronage. The Public Service Commission will be headed by a full‐time commissioner who will report to the Premier and produce an annual report to Parliament on the state of the NSW public service. 8 INFRASTRUCTURE POLICIES OF THE NSW COALITION GOVERNMENT d) Regional New South Wales The Coalition has committed to a range of policies to actively encourage greater decentralisation, including tasking Infrastructure NSW to assist in planning for major regional infrastructure projects. The new Government has also committed that one third of the Restart NSW fund (see section 3)