‘We cannot afford to be taking a business-as-usual approach in our efforts to convince investors to choose the Territory’: Interim ­commissioners confident projects will come to fruition

Billions of dollars in new projects have been put ­before the NT government, and the two Territorians charged with helping to get them across the line say there is every reason to be confident many will come to fruition.

BILLIONS of dollars in new projects, carrying thousands of new jobs, have been put ­before the NT government, and the two Territorians charged with helping to get them across the line say there is every reason to be confident many will come to fruition.

Senior public servants Andy Cowan and Hayley Richards are the interim ­commissioners Chief Minister Michael Gunner has given the sole role of working towards the Territory’s goal of growing its economy to $40bn by 2030.

The positions have long been sought by key industry bodies believing that having a single point of contact from an investment point of view makes it a lot easier for the proponents.

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Mr Cowan as interim investment commissioner and Ms Richards as interim major projects commissioner have wasted no time getting down to the task of winning private investment and major projects for the NT.

There have been 230 meetings with proponents over the past 12 weeks.

In the short window that they have held their roles, they have eight prospective major projects in the barrel and if half of them pan out the Territory will enjoy rich rewards. Mr Cowan said having the commissioners was something that had been needed for some time.

“Regardless of the size of governments, being able to have that single door and offer that experience to help navigate to the right decision ­makers is critically important,” Mr Cowan said.

“Key to these roles is the capability to accelerate investment decisions for proponents. What is even more important in a post-Covid environment will be the fact that it will be more and more competitive across jurisdictions in Australia and then internationally once borders open.

“We cannot afford to be taking a business-as-usual approach in our efforts to convince investors to choose the Territory as a place to bring their business.”

It is Mr Cowan’s job to be first to the ball and finding the new investment opportunities for the Territory. He is about finding new investors who have capital and ideas and drawing them to the NT.

Andy Cowan at the Budget Estimates. Picture: Che Chorley

Ms Richards has the task of running the balls down the field and getting them through the goals.

Her role as the major projects commissioner is quite different to the investment commissioner. It is immersed in much more of the detail and works with the list of projects that could be small in number but rich in rewards for the Territory.

“The investment commissioner is all about the projects we don’t know and the people we don’t know and the investors we don’t know,” Ms Richards said. “My role is much more about the people the Territory does know and helping them spend their money and invest and bring forward those decisions.

“We bring all the levers to bear that government has to get the projects across the line.

“The big thing that I am seeing is having that senior person with the experience to be able to problem-solve with the companies about what is going on and then the connections in government, not just our government but other governments, and then using what we have to help get those projects over the line is making a massive difference.

“I am currently working with a number of major projects. These are the projects of very high complexity, and/or really high benefits.

“You’ve got a senior person focusing on unlocking all the things that are holding the project back from a final investment decision.”

Ms Richards said the two commissioners were being embraced by business.

“As government, we have always been told ‘leave it to us’, ‘we know better than you’, around a number of things that proponents might come in and talk about.

“It’s their project so it’s their right to do this, but what we have been unpicking is that sometimes there are things government can do to help or value add to what they are doing.

“We have networks that can be of use to these proponents. That knowledge we have is very impactful when you are helping proponents trying to crack markets.

“There is a much bigger interest in this Covid world in how governments can work with their industries, and I think will see more of it.”

Ms Richards said while their efforts were about creating sustainable jobs for Territorians, the diversity was also important.

“The key point about a number of the projects we are working on that are higher tech, higher paid,” she said.

“They are the ones that create inputs into products that our near neighbours need. So we are not just facilitating projects, but identifying where the opportunities are to keep moving.

“We have projects that are proposing to send things out through HBDC cables, there’s a lot of energy guzzlers to our north and the role we can play is an important one.”

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“We have the proximity, we have the abundant resources and over time we are going to evolve massively to being a different kind of partner to the region than we currently are.”

Mr Cowan said the importance of the two commissioners’ roles in the Covid-19 business environment could not be overstated.

“These roles have the ability to get things into cabinet quickly and directly to the Chief Minister, giving the Territory the ability to move faster than what has been historically happening,” he said.

“It allows us to be more targeted in our approach and our focus, whether it is attracting new investment or getting projects to Final Investment Decision (FID).

“What I am also seeing is a number of companies that government is working with are saying we want to be based in the Territory because of its strategic location.

“With our investment over the past decade around enabling infrastructure, I think we are in a lot better position than we ever have been.

“With Covid and the challenges everyone has found around supply chains, the narrative we have always had around Darwin being the gateway going north and access to those markets, we are really seeing that come through with the number of proponents we are talking to.

“They want to be based here to ensure that they can be close to the market they want to export to. So moving up the value chain in regards to not just looking at exporting our resources, but how we can look at that advance manufacturing here and be a location that can export to their markets to the north.

“The value of business we have been talking about for the Territory is in the billions. There are a number of companies very keen to establish a manufacturing presence here in the area of health, energy and resources and aerospace.

“We have been doing a lot of work in the tourism and higher education space, agribusiness and aquaculture and defence. Many of these further the opportunity to headquarter businesses out of the Territory.

“All this is without forgetting the enormous opportunities that will flow from gas both onshore and offshore – the Middle Arm energy precinct, the marine industry park and other sustainable development precincts that we are working on.

“Along with the new infrastructure commissioner, the three of us are working closely to ensure we get the optimum outcomes for the Territory.”