Chairman’s Panel
Chairman’s Panel
Chair: The Hon Mark Birrell, Chairman, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia Panellists: Swati Dave, Executive General Manager, Specialised Finance at National Australia Bank; Phil Garling, Non-Executive Director of Networks NSW; Lindsay Maxsted, Chairman of Transurban; James Stewart OBE, Chairman, Global Infrastructure at KPMG; Dr Kerry Schott, Infrastructure Australia board member, Chairman of the Moorebank Intermodal, NBN Co. board member.
The Chairman’s Panel at Partnerships 2013 brings into sharp focus the need for all governments to be innovative and brave in pursuing politically complex reforms to help Australia solve its infrastructure backlog. Mark Birrell: A new Federal Government gives us fresh opportunities. What should be the ambition for the new Government, and what should it be focusing on? Swati Dave: Having a Prime Minister who says he wants to be the ‘infrastructure Prime Minister’ is a really good message to the market, and it indicates a likelihood of momentum, which is great. I also think we’re seeing the priorities emerge through reform of Infrastructure Australia, and if they can deliver those and provide the market with a prioritised pipeline that’s agreed between the Federal and state governments, it creates certainty and clarity, which will be really useful for the private sector to start aligning behind this opportunity. Phil Garling: Well, I think we can do a lot worse than just adopt the Paul Howes manifesto. Paul is the National Secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union, and, importantly, a director of Australian Super.
In a recent Australian Financial Review article, he removed the ideological barrier to privatisation by saying it’s actually in the workers’ interests not to be sitting in traffic jams, and being able to access health care, and having access to all the other infrastructure you’d expect in a First World country. The debate now seems to be about recycling capital. In my view, it’s appropriate for governments to take the up-front risk on development of projects, and then sell them to long-term owners – institutions that have an appetite for that type of investment. Lindsay Maxsted: I think the stars are aligned. It’s the right time to be focused on infrastructure, and it’s important that the Federal Government doesn’t try and reinvent the wheel. I don’t think they will; I think they are well prepared and, for me, the emphasis now should be moving away from the asset side of the balance sheet, in terms of what projects should Volume 4 Number 1
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