POLICY
O'Farrell To Slash Infrastructure Lead Times In Growth Push
NSW Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell has committed a NSW Liberal/Nationals Government to the goal of halving the lead-time for the delivery of major infrastructure and capital works to improve services to families and stimulate economic growth and job creation.
Mr O'Farrell announced Max Moore-Wilton AC, a former Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet, had agreed to help identify the barriers to infrastructure delivery and make recommendations on ways to eliminate them.
"These delays and blockages have caused delays to projects, increased costs to taxpayers or seen NSW families and business miss out on improvements altogether," Mr O'Farrell said.
"As Premier, I am determined to remove the road blocks to growth and renewal of NSW," he said.
"In office, the NSW Liberal/Nationals will replace Labor's inertia with a 'can do' approach to build the State and improve the services people rely upon.
"There's no bigger challenge in achieving this than improving the delivery lead times of infrastructure projects.
"Max Moore-Wilton has the necessary experience within both the public and private sectors for this critical role and I am grateful he has agreed to undertake the task."
Mr Moore-Wilton has been asked to:
- identify the major barriers in the infrastructure process in NSW;
- put forward solutions to how these barriers could be removed or at least minimised within a planning framework responsive to communities;
- make recommendations on how approval processes involving State agencies can run concurrently rather than sequentially; and,
- identify interstate and world's best practice for infrastructure approval.
"Mr Moore-Wilton will report back to the NSW Liberal/Nationals by the end of the year.
"There is absolutely no doubt NSW must do better when it comes to the time frame for the planning, approval and delivery of major infrastructure and capital works.
"Over 14 years, the State Labor Government has repeatedly demonstrated its failure to effectively plan or deliver projects on time, on budget or at all.
"The Chatswood to Epping Rail Link opens today three years late, at double the cost to taxpayers for half the length of the originally promised project.
"Our goal of halving lead-times is necessary, not just to meet today's global challenges, but to ensure NSW is well positioned to capitalise on the economic opportunities that will arise when the cycle improves.
"The NSW Liberal/Nationals understand the urgency of this task. We will have practical plans ready so we can hit the ground running in March 2011 and start making NSW 'the premier state' once again.
"Like our plan to cut payroll tax by 15% for the 2009 calendar year to protect jobs and support business, halving lead-times responds to challenges confronting NSW.
"Unlike Nathan Rees, I am not prepared to sit back and do nothing while families and business struggle with the challenges of the global financial crisis.
"When it comes to the economy, Nathan Rees' is out of his depth. He lacks a credible economic team or any economic goals for the State.
"NSW can't afford the type of incompetence and inexperience that saw Mr Rees' November mini-Budget worsen the situation facing NSW families and business," Mr O'Farrell said.
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