Transcript - ABC Radio NSW - Statewide - Drive

NICK RHEINBERGER[HOST]: Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Catherine King, as I mentioned, was in Mittagong for the announcement today, and she told Nick McLaren why she chose the Southern Highlands town for this announcement.

[Recorded interview]

CATHERINE KING [MINISTER]: Well, Mittagong has been one of the successful projects under Growing Regions round two. These are budgeted projects. It's a competitive open round, and we're announcing all of the new successful New South Wales regional projects today. The Mittagong Playhouse, which I've just gone and had a look at, it's been closed since 2018. It's not functioning as a performance space, and it's certainly not functioning as it could do for the community. It's a $4.3 million announcement for that project to really make sure that what is a building that is the heritage heart of Mittagong is actually now brought into the 21st century and can be used particularly with a focus on providing activities for young people. There's a lot for people who are interested in the historical society and lots of people who are interested in sport, but if you're interested in arts, community, cultural projects, those sorts of things, then that- this project is really what it will do.

NICK MCLAREN [INTERVIEWER]: Some people might be interested in the timing. We now know that we're in an election cycle. What's the timing of this? Because it is a lot of money and you've got projects here worth $15 million, $8 million. How was it announced?

CATHERINE KING: Well, these are budgeted programs. The round opened earlier last year, and we are announcing these at the earliest possible opportunity. I made the decisions for funding literally the week before or the Christmas week, and we're announcing these at the earliest opportunity. These are budgeted programs. This is the second round of the Growing Regions Program that we're announcing for over 16 projects, $80 million worth, because the Albanese Labor Government is very committed to making sure that our regions are great places to live, and this program has been designed to do that.

NICK MCLAREN: Now, just down the road, we've had the Prime Minister in Nowra today, and he's made an announcement about $5 million for the Nowra Riverfront Precinct. I know you're across the details of that. Why are you involved in that and what do you think it will deliver for Nowra?

CATHERINE KING: So this is part of a separate program called the Regional Precincts Program. It's a bit of a trial. We're trying to look at the way in which cities operate and connect to, whether it's things like- if you think about the waterfronts, often were the industrial parts of cities and often cities really were built with turning their back on the riverfront. They're now- people are now very interested in connecting cities back into those riverfronts. And so, there's examples of projects down in Devonport, in Launceston where that's been happening. And really this $5 million, which, again, is part of the budgeted Regional Precincts and Partnerships Program that the Prime Minister has announced, is again trying to look at those underutilised spaces, trying to look at partnerships with the not-for-profit sector, with local councils, to really change the way in which a region is used or a part of the region is used. And that's what that riverfront announcement is today. A great project again in Nowra.

NICK MCLAREN: Now, I know there's been some early schemes around this. There's been some ideas that have been thrown around, some drawings, but this will move it to the next level. The emphasis seems to be on community and tourism. Do you know if it would also involve housing? Because the local mayor did make some mention of housing there.

CATHERINE KING: Well, it is one of the things that we have been interested in as part of the precincts program. How do you actually ensure that you've got good community infrastructure that improves the amenity of spaces that then possibly can bring on whether it's social and affordable housing, whether it's council housing, or whether it's private sector developers coming in to increase the number of the housing stock? That has also been one of the things. And in that project, if the council is also linking that to housing, then that is a good thing from our perspective, because that means that what you're trying to do is bring that- trying to make sure that you're increasing the housing stock in your region at the same time as actually improving the community infrastructure.

NICK MCLAREN: Now, if I could just quickly touch on two more things. The very fast train you announced I think earlier this month, $80 million for Newcastle for the very fast train to take it to the next level. We're told that after Newcastle, it could go south. That would go through the Southern Highlands where you are today. Should people hold out hope for a very fast train at some stage in the future there?

CATHERINE KING: Look, absolutely. We are very determined to bring high-speed rail between Newcastle and Sydney. What we’re doing is taking the proper time. This is a massive undertaking. This is not something that we just suddenly go and say, here's a press release, and then we don't sort of see that really hard work that has to be done. What we've done is we've committed to the business case that's been developed, the geotechnical work, to really get a deep understanding about how do we actually build this, what's the engineering that's going to be needed, and then trying to work out exactly what the best costings are. That work has all been undertaken. We've opened the office in Newcastle. I'll have the business case. Infrastructure Australia is having a look at that. There'll be work we'll need to do in terms of then getting planning approvals, environmental approvals, and land acquisition. That will be the next stage that we will look at to see where the timing for that is, and then we'll need to make some investment decisions about it.

But we're very determined to get this done. But it is- and I don't want to pretend that you're going to see shovels in the ground immediately because I think that has been the mistake that we've made in the past with infrastructure projects. We're trying to make sure we get everything lined up properly – those planning approvals, land acquisition, understanding the geotechnical work, really understanding the cost, as well as we will need to get the private sector involved in the financing of this. It will be very expensive, but we think it's time for high-speed rail to come. And that's really what we're doing is that systematic, very clear work to make sure we get high-speed rail, we get it done properly and so that it succeeds, rather than it being what we've seen in the past, sort of the ideas, and then it's been killed off when the Liberals and National Party come in. We want to make sure there’s progresses on this and actually get it done.

NICK MCLAREN: And speaking of the Liberal and National Party, we're already seeing a debate around the NBN and the rollout that was taking place and whether it should have been completed earlier. We saw the Prime Minister commit today to connecting the NBN to another I think 2400 homes in the Shoalhaven region. Are there areas across the country, including where you are today, where the NBN still isn't connected?

CATHERINE KING: Well, of course, because we had a massive rollout of the NBN when Labor was last in office, and then we saw the ridiculous nature of the previous Liberal National government come in and then basically say, we're going to have an inferior NBN and roll out copper, which we know is not providing the speeds that people need. Now, can you imagine, for people who who've got high speed NBN – I've got that in my home town of Ballarat – what COVID would have been like, that online learning without it? It's really difficult. So we are getting this job done. We're doing the job that the previous Liberal National Party failed to do and actually getting that connectivity improved. And there'll be communities right the way across the country that were given the inferior copper by the Liberal Party, frankly, that we now will be able to convert and actually get that onto the NBN, onto high speed.

NICK MCLAREN: But we're also hearing that it's sometimes a very difficult and convoluted process, and because people are finding it so hard, they're turning to Elon Musk instead to get connected to the network.

CATHERINE KING: Well, again, in communities that I represent – and again, I'll let Michelle Rowland speak about the technical details of where communities are chosen and how the NBN work is done, because she's the Minister for that – but I know in my own communities just how important it has been getting that copper out, making sure we get proper NBN services into those because we want to make sure this is an affordable service, a service that is used by the whole community going forward into the future. Understand it can be difficult. There are areas where it's difficult when you've got fixed wireless [indistinct]…

NICK MCLAREN: [Talks over] Yeah, it might have to be a satellite in some places. 

CATHERINE KING: Yeah. So all of those things are important. But this is getting the job done of a National Broadband Network that is owned by the Government, that makes sure that the whole of the country is connected and it's not just those areas where it's more profitable, which is largely where the private sector will always go.

[End of recorded interview]

NICK RHEINBERGER: That's Catherine King talking to Nick McLaren here at ABC New South Wales.