Rebuilding NSW Joint Community Consultation Submission
Content Introduction... 3 Background Information... 4 Consultation Major Themes... 4 Making Space for Larger & Growing Businesses... 4 Connectivity... 4 Value Dispersion... 4 Funding Allocations... 4 Major Identified Projects: Roads... 5 Major Identified Projects: Other ($1.5B)... 5 Major Identified Projects: Sport and Culture... 5 Major Identified Projects: Schools and Hospitals... 6 Major Identified Projects: Water... 6 Developed Submission Additions... 6 Project Outlines & Submissions Received after the Consultation... 7 ATTACHMENT 1... 8 Regional Profile: Northern Rivers... 8 SEIFA Index of Disadvantage... 8 Unemployment Rates... 9 ATTACHMENT 2... 11 Complete List of Project Proposals... 11 P a g e 2
Introduction Regional Development Australia Northern Rivers (RDA Northern Rivers) and the Northern Rivers Business Chamber appreciates this opportunity to make this joint submission on the proposed $6b regional investment of the NSW Government, known as Rebuilding NSW. The Northern Rivers region faces a number of structural challenges that has impeded economic growth, including high levels of unemployment, low levels of workforce participation and high levels of social disadvantage. Attachment 1 documents the regions ranking against the SEIFA Index of social disadvantage, unemployment statistics and a brief population profile. We believe that the major infrastructure investment opportunities presented through the Rebuilding NSW proposed $6b investment could act as a catalyst that will re-invigorate the economic activity in our region. The Northern Rivers Business Chamber and RDA Northern Rivers jointly facilitated a major community consultation and identified that three main themes for infrastructure investment in our region were: 1. Space: Creating spaces for larger businesses to operate 2. Connectivity: linking our region to national and international markets & suppliers 3. Dispersion: spreading the economic activity, currently concentrated along the coast, deeper into the region. This submission includes the large number of ideas presented as part of the key stakeholder consultation, it is intended that over the coming months a small number of key projects will garner significant support from a large number of stakeholders and therefore present themselves as the most attractive projects for this region. Please consider this submission a first step in the Northern Rivers consultation process. There is a high level of enthusiasm for the opportunity Rebuilding NSW could bring to our region and we look forward to an ongoing dialogue. Yours sincerely, Dr. Ian Tiley Chair, RDA Northern Rivers John Murray Regional Manager, Northern Rivers Business Chamber 30 October 2014 P a g e 3
Background Information On Thursday 18 September a number of Northern Rivers stakeholders including Local Government General Managers, the Regional Business Chamber Chief Executive and the Chief Executive of Regional Development Australia attended a Rebuilding NSW briefing in Coffs Harbour at the invitation of Premier and Cabinet. Following on from that meeting the Northern Rivers Business Chamber and Regional Development Australia Northern Rivers facilitated a community consultation at Ballina. 55 people attended the key stakeholder consultation session, with around 15 stakeholders from local government and 40 business stakeholders. The meeting was provided a briefing on the scope of the opportunity and the proposed funding criteria and were asked to identify projects that would benefit the region as a whole, rather than specific towns or businesses. The smaller projects (value below $5m) were reviewed and where possible consolidated into a program of works that would increase job creation or investment opportunities across the region. The process started with consideration of the major projects that would be over $10million in value and could be at least 50% funded by private sector investment and/or local or commonwealth government with a 50% contribution by the State Government through the Rebuilding NSW funding. Consultation Major Themes The major themes that evolved through the consultation were connectivity, making space for larger and growing businesses and value dispersion. Making Space for Larger & Growing Businesses: Creating space for business to grow in the region, creating the infrastructure that would allow larger businesses to continue to operate in the region and stopping the migration of successful regional businesses north to Queensland and south to Coffs Harbour: Ballina Airport Industrial precinct Byron Bay larger business industrial precinct Connectivity: Connecting local businesses to national and international markets including: CBD priced, reliable commercial grade internet Major supply chain roads and transport hubs: Casino to QLD supply link Ports and waterways; including the Yamba Port development Value Dispersion: Dispersing the value from infrastructure and visitors across the region including: The Rail trail dispersing the value of the sea-side visitor economy deep into the region through the Tweed to Casino Rail trail o Expanding into established walking tracks o Developing inland food economy Film production precinct to accommodate short term hosting of film and television production crews. Funding Allocations The consultation group considered the proposed funding allocations of the $6B set aside for regional development including $1B for regional roads, $1B for regional water projects and at least $500M for sports and culture projects. The meeting assumed that the Education and Health Departments would be given priority for their project proposals. P a g e 4
There were a large number of proposals put forward for consideration. The larger projects are listed below grouped under each of the Rebuilding NSW proposed funding programme headings. A full list of proposed projects is provided as Attachment 2. Major Identified Projects: Roads Project name Cost Private State Federal Est. Jobs Created Regional Timber Bridge $100M $50M $25M $25m 300-500 Replacement Project Summerland Way/ Mt Lindesay Hwy upgrade $50M $20m $30M 1110+ Retained Intermodal Exchange (can be joined with Summerland way upgrade as a precinct project) $72M $38M $30M $4M 100+ add construction jobs Northern Rivers Supply Chain Roads Program (Includes Summerland Way Upgrade) $500M $100M $300M $100M 150+ construction jobs Major Identified Projects: Other ($1.5B) Project name Cost Private State Federal Est. Jobs Created Ballina/Byron Airport & $80 m $40 m $40 m $0 1000 + Industrial Precinct Byron Food & Technology Larger $60 m $20 m $20 m $20 m 750 + Site Business Precinct Commercial Grade Broadband to $325 $250 $75 1000+ each Regional Business Hub Affordable Housing $200 m $100 m $100 m $0 Initial construction only Regional Public Transport Backbone project. Transport to work 1000+ Major Identified Projects: Sport and Culture Project name Cost Private State Federal Est. Jobs Created Film & Television Production & $10 m $3 m $5 m $2 m 1500+ Services Precinct Lismore Arts & Cultural Precinct $10 m $5 m including Council funds $5 m Construction Jobs P a g e 5
Major Identified Projects: Schools and Hospitals Project name Cost Private State Federal Est. Jobs Created Lismore Health & Allied Services $280M $15M $15M 1000 + Precinct Healthy Ageing, Lifestyle & Disability Centre $100M $30M $40M $30M 500 Major Identified Projects: Water Project name Cost Est. Jobs Private State Federal Created Port of Yamba Industry Precinct $200M $40M $40M $20M 800+ Northern Rivers (Tweed to Yamba) Marine Management Programme (includes Port of Yamba noted above as part of programme) $700M $200M $400M $100M Developed Submission Additions In addition to the matters discussed at the consultation, more detailed project proposals have been received from the following stakeholders: Tweed Shire Council o Kingscliff Foreshore Masterplan and Coastal Erosion Hazard Protection + Tweed Riverbank Erosion Management (possible inclusion in the Tweed to Yamba Marine Management Programme) o Kennedy Drive Reconstruction o Replace Cudgen Creek, Twin Bridge, Kyogle Road and Mount Burrell Bridge o Regional All Access Playground o Salt & Fingal Surf Lifesaving Club o Organics Processing Facility o Rail trail Terminal and Murwillumbah Railway Station to Tweed Regional Art Gallery o World Heritage Rainforest Centre o Knox Park Master Plan o Murwillumbah Airfield Development o Murwillumbah SES/RFS Units Richmond Valley Council o Summerland Way/ Mount Lindesay Road Ballina Shire Council o Southern Cross Business & Aviation Precinct o Ballina/Byron Gateway Airport Upgrade Business & Community o Casino Industrial & Intermodal Park o Rainbow Trail Nimbin (could be part of larger Rail trail network) P a g e 6
o Dr. James Crawley Rail trail Knowledge & Creative Industry Infrastructure Private Education Centres Sea and River Utilisation Airport Cities Project Outlines & Submissions Received after the Consultation Nathan Luke Stacks Law firm Project name Cost Private NR Aquatic Sports & Marine $50M $10M + Heritage Precinct $10M LGA Est. Jobs State Federal Created $20M $10M 400+ Annie Brownjohn Organic Systems and Solutions Project name Cost Private Sustainable Agriculture Centre $80M for Excellence State Federal Est. Jobs Created EcoTeam Project name Cost Private State Federal Est. Jobs Created Effluent Irrigation of Biomass Crops for Carbon Economy $150M $50M $50M $50M 1000+ P a g e 7
ATTACHMENT 1 Regional Profile: Northern Rivers The Northern Rivers of NSW includes 7 Local Government Areas with an aging population. To place the significance of the Northern Rivers into the state perspective, the following population statistics are outlined 1 : Table 1 - Northern Rivers population as a percentage of regional population Area / LGA Population % of Regional Population Total Regional Population (NSW population 1,971,734 100.0 excluding Greater Sydney CCCSA) Ballina 39,274 2.0% Byron 29,209 1.5% Clarence Valley 49,665 2.5% Kyogle 9,228 0.5% Lismore 42,766 2.2% Richmond Valley 22,037 1.1% Tweed 85,105 4.3% Total Northern Rivers 277,284 14.1% NSW Business Chamber and RDA Northern Rivers supports to government s aim to use the funds in this programme to support the growth of the state, leverage state investment to expand infrastructure, contribute to productive capacity of the economy and accelerate job creation. Northern Rivers productive infrastructure investment opportunities can act as a catalyst for otherwise unattainable economic growth across a range of industry sectors. The Northern Rivers faces a number of structural challenges that currently limit real economic growth including high levels of social disadvantage and high levels of unemployment. SEIFA Index of Disadvantage SEIFA Index of Disadvantage measures the relative level of socio-economic disadvantage based on a range of Census characteristics with a lower score on the index indicating a higher level of disadvantage 2. Analysis of the Northern Rivers NSW SEIFA Index of Disadvantage indicates that within NSW, the Northern Rivers has three LGA s in the 10 th percentile. 1 Population figures taken from 2011 Census (ABS QuickStats) 2 Socio-economic Indexes for Areas, 2011 P a g e 8
Table 2 - SEIFA Index of Disadvantage compared to NSW LGAs LGA SEIFA Index of Disadvantage Rank out of 153 NSW LGAs Percentile Ballina 980 99 65 Byron 979 98 64 Clarence Valley 907 13 9 Kyogle 902 11 8 Lismore 946 66 43 Richmond Valley 888 7 5 Tweed 949 68 45 Table 3 - SEIFA Index of Disadvantage compared to Australian LGAs LGA SEIFA Index of Disadvantage Rank out of 564 Australian LGAs Percentile Ballina 980 343 61 Byron 979 340 61 Clarence Valley 907 76 14 Kyogle 902 70 13 Lismore 946 216 39 Richmond Valley 888 56 10 Tweed 949 227 41 Unemployment Rates In August 2014 the unemployment rate in Northern Rivers NSW was Richmond-Tweed 8.3% and Coffs Grafton 7.3%, which is significantly higher than the NSW average of 5.6% 3 or even the Regional NSW average of 6.7%. 3 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Survey June 2014 P a g e 9
Smoothed Unemployment Rate Of the 102,431 people living in Northern Rivers NSW in 2011 who were employed, 54% worked full time and 39% part time (7% were away from work) 4. Of those employed, 14.1% worked less than 15 hours per week. Figure 1 - Northern Rivers Unemployment rates compared to NSW 5 12.0 Smoothed Unemployment Rate 2008-2013 By LGA 10.0 8.0 6.0 4.0 2.0 0.0 Sep-08 Dec-08 Mar-09 Jun-09 Sep-09 Dec-09 Mar-10 Jun-10 Sep-10 Dec-10 Mar-11 Jun-11 Quarter Sep-11 Dec-11 Mar-12 Jun-12 Sep-12 Dec-12 Mar-13 Jun-13 Sep-13 Dec-13 Ballina (A) Byron (A) Clarence Valley (A) Kyogle (A) Lismore (C) Richmond Valley (A) Tweed (A) New South Wales 4 Australian Bureau of Statistics, Census of Population and Housing, 2011 (ABS Quickstats by LGA) 5 DEEWR 2013 P a g e 10
ATTACHMENT 2 Complete List of Project Proposals P a g e 11
P a g e 12
P a g e 13
P a g e 14
P a g e 15
P a g e 16
P a g e 17
P a g e 18
P a g e 19
P a g e 20