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Speaker 1: Now we know the Territory government has released a framework

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Speaker 1: detailing infrastructure priorities. Now Infrastructure NT is looking for stakeholder

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Speaker 1: and public feedback on the new NT Infrastructure Framework paper position. Now,

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Speaker 1: what it basically does, from what I can gather, is

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Speaker 1: sets the vision, the purpose and also implementation pathways in

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Speaker 1: order to prioritize government investment in infrastructure. Now, joining us

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Speaker 1: on the line to tell us a little bit more

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Speaker 1: about what this all means and what it means to

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Speaker 1: everyday Territorians as well, is Louise McCormack, the Northern Territory

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Speaker 1: Infrastructure Commissioner. Good morning to you, Louise.

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Speaker 2: Good morning Katie.

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Speaker 1: How are you really well? Thanks so much for your

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Speaker 1: time this morning, Louise. Why do we need this infrastructure plan?

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Speaker 2: So we've refocused the current strategy and plan to be

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Speaker 2: best practice. A lot of things have changed since twenty

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Speaker 2: seventeen when the original plan and strategy were developed, so

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Speaker 2: COVID for example, and those sorts of changes have really

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Speaker 2: changed the way we live and use infrastructure. So it's

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Speaker 2: time for a refresh and relook at adopting a fresh

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Speaker 2: approach to this. We're also wanting to look at how

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Speaker 2: we can balance the social and economic infrastructure, and that's

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Speaker 2: really important with government's growth agenda about growing our population

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Speaker 2: our economy at the same time. So to keep people here,

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Speaker 2: we need the social infrastructure, but we also need the

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Speaker 2: economic infrastructure to attract business. So it's truly about what

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Speaker 2: enabling things we can do to an actor. I guess

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Speaker 2: government's vision and so how do you.

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Speaker 1: Go through this process because I understand that you're going

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Speaker 1: to be auditing sort of that current infrastructure and then

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Speaker 1: also looking at those future needs. Is that right?

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Speaker 2: Absolutely? So, in addition to a strategy and a plan,

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Speaker 2: we're actually going to include two new parts to the work.

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Speaker 2: One is the Infrastructure Order and one is the Infrastructure Pipeline.

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Speaker 2: And the reason why we've included these. The Infrastructure Order

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Speaker 2: really is looking at what our gap is in terms

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Speaker 2: of what our current infrastructure is and what the gap

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Speaker 2: is to get us to where we need to be

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Speaker 2: to win investment and grow our population. So it's quite

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Speaker 2: an important piece in forming government investment and infrastructure. The

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Speaker 2: pipeline itself is really looking at what's funded infrastructure, both

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Speaker 2: private and public, to try and help our industry plan

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Speaker 2: ahead for their workforce requirements.

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Speaker 1: And so the wise some people listening this morning will

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Speaker 1: be thinking, I've got no idea what that means for me,

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Speaker 1: you know, as an everyday territorian. So what does it

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Speaker 1: mean for just normal people listening this morning? Thinking why

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Speaker 1: do we need this plan?

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Speaker 2: It's absolutely essential, and I get it's quite complex, but

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Speaker 2: the way we'd impact it everyday territorians is we're getting

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Speaker 2: more bang for our buck by having a coordinated approach.

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Speaker 2: So if somebody thinks about it as if you're applying

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Speaker 2: to build your house and you might want something extra

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Speaker 2: in your house, and you've got to make a decision

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Speaker 2: whether you borrow more money now or later to build

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Speaker 2: that into your house. To get the benefit for that,

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Speaker 2: it's really trying to coordinate that better and give some

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Speaker 2: informed decisions on how you can best invest in what

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Speaker 2: you're doing right.

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Speaker 1: And so we're talking, you know, our roads, we're talking

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Speaker 1: some of our bigger developments and our power and things

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Speaker 1: like that, aren't.

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Speaker 2: We Absolutely So a good example would be in a community,

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Speaker 2: if we've got a health precinct instead of just one

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Speaker 2: health clinic or a mental health facility, you might be

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Speaker 2: able to actually combine that funding and get more out

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Speaker 2: of that funding for the get more banks for your

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Speaker 2: buck essentially from the government spend and.

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Speaker 1: So in the wise, what are the next steps? I

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Speaker 1: know that you're after public feedback, you're also after stakeholder

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Speaker 1: engagement and feedback as well, So what are the next

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Speaker 1: steps here? If people want to have their.

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Speaker 2: Say, I would love it if everybody jumped on to

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Speaker 2: have your say dot NT, dot gov, dot au. We're

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Speaker 2: taking all common and all submissions up until the eighteenth

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Speaker 2: of March. We're not starting with a blank page. We

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Speaker 2: have done analysis of all the Tersey submissions and feedback

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Speaker 2: we've had in the past. But we'd really like people's

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Speaker 2: feedback on the future of infrastructure in the territory.

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Speaker 1: And so where's the best place for them to do

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Speaker 1: it or what can they do?

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Speaker 2: So on the have you Say, dot NT, dot self

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Speaker 2: dot au website the position papers there, there's also a

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Speaker 2: PowerPoint presentation. We're explaining a little more detail what it's

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Speaker 2: all about, and you can actually put your feedback online

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Speaker 2: and your submissions online. Well.

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Speaker 1: Louise McCormack, the Northern Territories Infrastructure Commissioner, good to chat

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Speaker 1: with you this morning and our first interview I think

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Speaker 1: since you've been in this role prior to your previous one.

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Speaker 2: Yes, yes, yes, it is really really.

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Speaker 1: Good to have you on the show and no doubt

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Speaker 1: we'll talk to you again, so no worries.

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Speaker 2: Thanks for thanks, Louise,