NSW Labor Leader, Luke Foley, has this morning told Parliament the Illawarra will be eligible for the proceeds from the sale of the Snowy Hydro to the Federal Government after introducing a Bill into the Legislative Assembly.
If the sale proceeds, under the NSW Labor Bill, Illawarra infrastructure projects will be eligible for funding through Infrastructure NSW, and no longer have to compete against multi-billion dollar Sydney projects.
Snowy Hydro Limited is currently owned by NSW (58%), Victoria (29%) and the Commonwealth (13%). Each shareholder has equal voting rights.
Under NSW’s Snowy Hydro Corporatisation Act 1997, the NSW Government may sell its share to the Commonwealth without further approval from the NSW Parliament.
The NSW Labor Bill would prevent the sale of shares in Snowy Hydro Limited unless each State Minister holding those shares is satisfied that the proceeds of the sale will be applied for the purposes of investment in infrastructure in regional NSW.
Snowy Hydro’s value is estimated between $6 billion - $7 billion. Industry estimates are that NSW’s share would be around $4 billion.
Projects in regional areas would be prioritised around key infrastructure categories, all of which are critical to our region including:
- Education
- Health
- Roads and Transport
- Culture and Sport
- Water Security.
Quotes Attributable to NSW Shadow Treasurer Ryan Park:
“This is what happens when you have a local MP around the Shadow Cabinet table. I am proud that I have been able to stand up for our region and make sure we get the funds we need to improve our infrastructure.
‘This is a great commitment for our region. It means we will be eligible to access funding to improve critical job generating infrastructure across the region.
‘This is about ensuring regions, like the Illawarra, are given just as big a priority as Sydney and that proceeds are going to exactly where they are needed.”
Quotes attributable to Anna Watson:
“Our region has been neglected by a Sydney focused Government and we have countless projects that have been sidelined by the Liberals.
“Shellharbour has been ignored and taken for fools by this Liberal Government.
“We need jobs growth and economic stimulation and that is exactly what this Bill will do”.
Quotes attributable to Paul Scully:
“Far too often we’ve seen budget blow-outs in Sydney that have meant Illawarra projects have been placed on the backburner and this commitment will mean we will finally have a fair shot at our fair share.
“NSW Labor’s Bill shows that the Illawarra would never be the poor cousin of Sydney which is what we’ve experienced under the Liberals and we have no better examples of that than the decision to impose fares on the free Gong Shuttle service or cancel the construction of the lifts at Unanderra Station.”
