The Hon Catherine King MP
Interview on ABC Illawarra Mornings
NICK RHEINBERGER: Officially opening today, the Far North Collector Road in the Shoalhaven will now be called Bannada Way, and it links Illaroo Road near the western end of West Cambewarra Road. Local leaders from council and state and federal politics will be there to mark the occasion alongside my next guest. Infrastructure Minister Catherine King has found the time to chat with us before she heads down to the coast today. Good morning, Minister.
CATHERINE KING: Good morning.
NICK RHEINBERGER: This looks like it was fully funded by the Australian Government, which is why you’re there, apart from looming elections. It’s a fairly local road. Why did the Federal Government choose to put the money towards this?
CATHERINE KING: Well, this is a project that’s been an important connection for the community. And investing in local roads, which we do frequently together with local councils, is really part of the agenda the Federal Government has around productivity and liveability. We have large scale projects that we invest in through our partnership agreements with states and territories, and then we have partnerships on local grow– roads with local government right the way across the country. And obviously, this is one of the projects that has been important to the local council for connectivity, but also for improving productivity across the region.
NICK RHEINBERGER: Yeah, I mean, there are lots of, you know, worthy projects, I’m sure. I mean, how much is this shoring up the seat of Gilmore for the Labor Party?
CATHERINE KING: Well, that’s certainly not been the focus of the Government. And in fact, what we’ve done through both the review of Infrastructure Australia and through the Infrastructure Investment Program is to really put integrity back into the way in which the Government is making decisions about road investments. For the first time in the last budget process, we actually had Infrastructure Australia providing advice to Government at the Commonwealth level about what those investments would be. We’ve also– are inserting in their partnership agreements that we’re focusing on with states and territories. We’re negotiating those at the moment, a whole raft of measures around data collection to ensure that the decisions that we make about co-investment, whether it be with state or federal governments, are based on that data, whether it be road safety data or whether it be proper cost benefit analysis. So all of that reform work has been done, but this is a great, great day for people in the Shoalhaven area today, making sure this road is finished, 250 jobs and getting it open today.
NICK RHEINBERGER: What swung the decision as far as Infrastructure Australia were concerned? Is it about the safety of the road, or opening up new areas for more housing?
CATHERINE KING: Well, this of course is a project that has been on the books for a while. As I said, it was just in this budget that Infrastructure Australia provided that advice to Government. And so we’ve had to do quite a piece of work, reforming the way in which the previous government made decisions about road funding. We’ve kept a lot of projects that we’re continuing to invest in as well, and we know that they’re important to local communities. But in terms of this project, obviously it’s a project that’s been important to the local council and important to the local community.
NICK RHEINBERGER: Now, while I’ve got you, you’ve got a pretty comprehensive portfolio. Infrastructure covers a lot, including the new Sydney Airport in western Sydney [sic]. There’s some reforms you’ve announced about the way slots are allocated – that is, what plane lands at what time. How does it work currently?
CATHERINE KING: So the way in which the slot systems work– so obviously, Kingsford Smith Airport has two constraints on it. It has both a movement cap of 80 movements per rolling shift– per rolling hour, and then it also has a curfew on it. So it has a constrained airspace in that sense that you’ve only got a certain amount of spaces that are there. The slots legislation, which hasn’t really been reformed for over 27 years, allocates slots on this basis– so regional services are guaranteed certain slots, and then those slots are allocated on the basis of divvying that up amongst the access that’s required by different airlines. And then if they don’t use those slots, then they lose them. But the problem has been there hasn’t really been an audit of what’s been happening for slots for a long time. So we announced back in February that we would undertake an audit of those slots and that slot system, and that is already underway. We then said that one of the problems also, and appointed to by the ACCC over a period of time, is that the transparent– lack of transparency about the way in which the slots manager was allocating slots and the way in which conflicts of interest were being managed, given that the current slots manager actually has also some ownership or some involvement of some of the airlines. So we’ve announced a new open tender for that process. And that’s [indistinct] …
NICK RHEINBERGER: [Talks over] So the …
CATHERINE KING: … that train for a while.
NICK RHEINBERGER: Okay. That’s what I wanted to get at that, that the slots are currently allocated by a company which is majority owned by Qantas and Virgin. Is there any way of getting out of that arrangement and making a completely independent process?
CATHERINE KING: We’ve announced the open tender process for the slot allocator. There is an independent board, so it’s meant to be done at arm’s length, obviously from the interests of the companies. And obviously the airport has a significant interest as well. And so really, what we’ve done is on the recommendations of the ACCC and on the Harris Report is open that up and say: we now want an open tender process and also better transparency in the way in which slots are allocated so that it’s publicly reported, but also making sure that conflicts of interests are adequately addressed. And that’s again part of the reforms we announced back in February.
NICK RHEINBERGER: All right. So that company which is running it now, Airport Coordination Australia, uh, applies for the tender. They have to show that they can do this independently and fairly.
CATHERINE KING: Correct, correct.
NICK RHEINBERGER: Okay. Now, also on the airport – this is a connection, I promise you. The best connection to a port from the Western Sydney Airport would be the Maldon-Dombarton line. Now, I understand that this is a real issue. It’s been sitting idle for years. Only a few weeks ago, the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue stood up alongside Wollongong MP Paul Scully, calling for a new business case. Is that on your radar?
CATHERINE KING: Well, again, the way in which the Commonwealth’s investment in infrastructure works is that the state government will need to come to us as part of a budget process with their priorities for requests for investment from the Commonwealth. We’ll look at those; as we do, get advice from Infrastructure Australia about those, and make decisions in the usual way in a budget process. It certainly is an issue that has been raised with me, but to date we haven’t received a request, and obviously we’re open to that request from the New South Wales Government.
NICK RHEINBERGER: All right. Does the Government or the Western Sydney Leadership Dialogue come straight to you? Or do they go to Infrastructure Australia and make the case?
CATHERINE KING: What they need to do is go to the New South Wales Government and request the New South Wales Government if they want to co-invest with the Commonwealth in terms of that. That would be the process that the New South Wales Government would normally undertake as part of the budget process.
NICK RHEINBERGER: But hypothetically, the funds are there if you say that Infrastructure Australia makes that case.
CATHERINE KING: No, the funds will …
NICK RHEINBERGER: [Talks over] [indistinct] …
CHRISTOPHER LUXON: … the funds will be there if the Government makes a decision to co-invest with the New South Wales Government. So at this stage, it’s not a project where– I don’t even know how much it would cost at this stage. So we try and make those investments, particularly in the case of things like rail where they are billions of dollars of taxpayer money, we try and make those decisions when we’ve got a pretty clear view about how much it’s going to cost.
NICK RHEINBERGER: All right, all the best for the trip to the Shoalhaven today. Thank you.
CATHERINE KING: Great to be with you. Thanks, Nick.
NICK RHEINBERGER: Infrastructure Minister Catherine King, and she will be alongside Mayor Amanda Findley and Fiona Phillips, the Federal Member, opening that road officially today. So don’t be surprised if you get stopped, and there may be some sort of long ribbon and some comically large scissors opening that road.