Greiner moves to change transport perceptions

Date: 03.05.2011

Infrastructure NSW Chairman has runs on the board in the state

Former premier Nick Greiner’s appointment as the inaugural Chairman of Infrastructure NSW has been met with a wide range of responses.

Predictably, Greiner’s record as Premier in the early 1990s and a perceived public transport bias then of road over rail, along with his many business interests, including with infrastructure construction businesses, have been raised in newspapers and by the Opposition.

But Greiner has move to spike some of these guns, flagging high-speed passenger rail to the regions and dropping positions he has held with Stockland and Bilfinger Berger.

Premier Barry O’Farrell hailed Greiner as bringing a "can do" approach to his new job.

Little if any mention has been made of it but one of Greiner’s more impressive recent accomplishments was sorting out the complicated Hunter Valley coal export supply chain through the port of Newcastle.

This led to the 2008 industry agreement that involved addressing the competing interests of miners big and small, rail operators, port service providers and the port.

Ironically, one point of criticism informs another attribute,
that Greiner has extensive business experience, which teh state government will put to use reassuring the
investors it will need to fund infrastructure projects.

"Mr Greiner has the ideas, experience and the commercial nous to ensure we identify the projects needed to improve the lives of the people of NSW," O’Farrell says.

"He has shown in his time in politics and the corporate world that he wants to get on with the job and achieve results.

"That’s what we need in NSW – someone ready to apply themselves to determining which roads, rail lines and other infrastructure NSW needs most after being starved of facilities for the last 16 years under Labor."

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