NSW DRIVING ECONOMIC RECOVERY THROUGH INFRASTRUCTURE Simon Draper | Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure NSW
The NSW infrastructure delivery program is continuing apace. Given the events of the past year, that alone is cause for celebration. Usually the focus of Infrastructure NSW is on longterm benefits, particularly as they relate to the underpinnings of prosperity – productivity growth, supporting population growth, enabling greater labour market participation and, increasingly, ensuring resilience to extreme events. Investments are guided by well-considered State Infrastructure Strategies, solid planning within infrastructure agencies and thorough evaluation and ongoing assurance of projects. We think long-term because the benefits are baked into our economy for many decades, and some projects take years to plan, design and deliver. Now we are experiencing something unfamiliar in Australia – a need to uphold economic activity and employment through the direct and immediate effects of public investment. During the pandemic, households have experienced public health restrictions on activity and how they spend, albeit with some household income support by governments. It is also not surprising that many private investors have conserved their cash and bolstered balance sheets where possible, meaning new investment has been restrained. In that environment, direct expenditure by governments takes on a different hue. Having formed good fiscal habits, governments are being asked to rethink their approach. At the start of the pandemic in March and April 2020, we were focused on the construction sector – how to provide confidence that activity would continue, how to fill the gap left by the withdrawal of private sector investors and how to maintain industry capacity. In this we would claim, if not perfection, then a good pass mark. The NSW Government and its agencies coordinated actions, approach and messages in a way that set a new benchmark. While the immediate benefits flow to construction, this also injected the wider economy with cash, confidence and a sense of normality. We engaged widely through direct messages, online forums, online videos and case studies, but we also took more concrete steps. A project pipeline was published in the midst of the lockdown confirming commitment to projects. Commercial principles were released to address the concerns of contractors and suppliers fearful of being caught between fixed contracts and disruptions to operations. Project procurement processes continued as planned. Approved working hours on construction
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Walsh Bay Arts Precinct – Construction is continuing across NSW without interruption. (David Clare, First Light Photography)
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