Second Roundtable Meeting - Guest Speaker James Bolton

Our second roundtable of 2020, and our first virtual roundtable, was held last week. Our guest, James Bolton, Director for Regional NSW (Riverina Murray), presented to members and addressed questions from the audience.

On April 2nd, 2020 the Department of Regional NSW was established with James Bolton as the Director, Riverina Murray. The Department provides a structure for Local and State Governments to stay connected and is tasked with delivering statewide programs and regional initiatives and brokering solutions. James has extensive local knowledge of the Riverina Murray region which consists of 20 local councils.

Reporting to the Deputy Premier, the Department of Regional NSW (DRNSW) ensures Regional NSW is represented at a senior government level. The following regional agencies are included in the DRNSW:

·         the Department of Primary Industries

·         Local Land Services

·         Division of Resources and Geoscience, which will be known as Geoscience, Exploration and Mining

·         Regional NSW Group (including Public Works Advisory)

·         Regional Growth NSW Development Corporation (a member of Committee for Wagga)

·         Office of Cross-Border Commissioner

·         Office of Drought Response

·         Office of Regional Youth

The DRNSW current priorities are bushfire recovery, COVID-19 response and recovery, drought, the Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund (which includes the Special Activation Precincts and improved regional digital connectivity), Regional Growth Funds and the Office of the Cross-Border Commissioner.

The NSW Government is committed to rolling out stimulus packages in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and to aid the related recovery. James highlighted the Department of Regional NSW commitment to hearing suggestions regarding the NSW Government approach to CVOID-19 from the local community.

Key points discussed during the members roundtable:

COVID-19 has resulted in business operating in a world very different to that of 3-4 months ago, as a result changes to the planning process will be considered and, an approach similar to that of the Special Activation Precinct may by looked at.

At the end of last year Infrastructure Australia highlighted their priorities and plans, given the changing environment we expect a reprioritizing of development internally, into Australia, rather than looking at things that were previously externally focused. In short, the COVID-19 factor is currently being applied to all NSW Government funding and there is a focus on local procurement and local agriculture and food production.

The effectiveness of pivoting projects and refocusing our resources may rely on changes being made at a local level to increase confidence in the market, particularly in residential and commercial development.

The residential and commercial construction industry currently has sufficient workload however the concern is workflow in 6 months’ time as it generally takes 6-9 months for residential construction projects to start and employment is currently being impacted. The construction industry could pivot a percentage of their work to commercial, but this needs to be in the planning stage now so that when residential construction slows the commercial works bought forward could commence immediately.

Within the NSW Government, every department across the state is aiming to bring forward as much infrastructure work as possible. There are many commitments planned in the Wagga Wagga Local Government Area (LGA) that will benefit our local economy. They include the Special Activation Precinct, TransGrid SA-NSW Interconnector, Snowy Hydro 2.0, Inland Rail and Digital Connectivity.

It is expected pressure on social housing will increase as unemployment rises. Whist the Regional Growth Fund is not part of the Social Housing funding stream, there are several projects planned for this area. Department for Regional NSW is working in conjunction with the Social Housing team to consider how affordable housing can be delivered differently in our local area.

The current crisis demonstrates the importance of connectivity and, specifically for Wagga, improving regional connectivity. James is confident this issue will be examined and addressed by the NSW Government.

The NSW Government is open to receiving feedback from a local level about any potential solutions to soften the impact of this period on all industry and businesses.