A five-prong investment decision has been made for the huge $4.2 billion fund created by the federal Government’s buy-out of NSW’s share of Snowy Hydro – and regional NSW is the winner.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
It includes data hubs, international airfreight hubs, water pipelines and dam infrastructure and new road and rail corridors.
Fairfax Media was given an early look at the priority areas announced by Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW John Barilaro who vowed earlier this year to make sure all monies from the Snowy fund would be spent in regional NSW.
Mr Barilaro told Fairfax Media that dams were a major part of the spending agenda and water pipelines. He said he hoped the Snowy fund would leverage the federal government into going halves in major dam projects. He nominated the Macquarie, Gwydir, Lachlan and Richmond valleys as the priority sites for dams and also a dam in the Hunter.
“The state infrastructure strategy has already identified these areas,” Mr Barilaro said.
“Absolutely we will build dams. The time is right and I believe the political climate is right especially with sympathy for the regions with the drought so that we can move in this area now. We can also leverage money from the Federal Government to help with these projects. So we can turn $4.2 billion into $8.4 billion. Water security is of the highest priority.”
Increasing the height of dam walls was also on the agenda.
He also mentioned building a pipeline to shore up Coonabarabran’s water supplies.
Mr Barilaro promised to end mobile blackspots in regional NSW, whether the Federal government wanted to be involved or not.
“We will make NSW mobile blackspot free,” he said.
“We know some of this area falls under the federal government but NSW will lead the way and get this done.”
He also said the government wanted to set up regional data hubs to increase internet speeds and connectivity.
“The ability to do more in your businesses in the regions will increase.”
Increasing employment would increase the self-worth of people, especially young people, in the regions and also boost mental health.
International airfreight hubs were also being considered for a number of centres so farmers could access export markets more easily.
READ ALSO: Early bird captures the worm at royal visit
Places such as Tamworth, Dubbo, Parkes and Wagga Wagga were among the sites under consideration for a freight hub.
He said the $4.2 billion spend was a “gamechanger” for regional NSW.
The priority areas are:
- Water security – dams and pipelines are a priority, such as the Lake Rowlands to Carcoar 12 kilometre pipeline announced this week.
- Rail and road passenger connectivity - track upgrades to provide faster passenger rail services.
- Freight linkages – new technology and track upgrades to provide faster freight rail services as well as expanding air freight capacity and infrastructure.
- Regional digital connectivity – exploring the development of regional data hubs, high capacity “backbone” data links from regional centres to Sydney, connectivity to help agribusiness improve productivity and better access to reliable data speeds.
- Place based economic activation – funding the next stages of the Parkes Special Activation Precinct investigations and looking at additional precincts.
Mr Barilaro said “these are big-picture projects that generations before us have dreamed of and generations that follow us will benefit from”.
“Dams and pipelines are a key priority,” he said.
“Creating special activation precincts to attract and grow businesses in regional NSW will underpin economic growth in regional NSW. On top of this, we are investigating international air freight hubs which would allow producers to deliver beef, dairy, fruit, nuts and seafood around Australia and the world, as quickly as possible, which means significant competitive advantages for regional NSW exporters.
“This will open up opportunities for regional NSW to access higher value markets, which is critical during the current drought.”
John Ellicott
journalist and author
journalist and author
