The Minister for the Hunter, Tim Crakanthorp, says the community can "expect movement" on light rail and Hunter Park but will need to be patient because the previous government "left the cupboard bare".
The Newcastle MP and his Labor colleagues ended 12 years of exile in March when they turfed the Coalition from power in NSW.
Mr Crakanthorp was rewarded with the TAFE and skills portfolio and the restored regional ministry as Hunter MPs gained five of the 22 positions in Premier Chris Minns' cabinet.
"As the Minister for the Hunter, which is a very exciting portfolio, I'm really honoured to have that. I wasn't necessarily expecting that, so it's a real bonus," he said during a wide-ranging interview with the Newcastle Herald on Thursday.
"My priority there is to advocate as strongly as possible for all projects in the Hunter in cabinet. We've got a really, really strong Hunter team in cabinet.
"We've only got 750,000 people in the Hunter, about 9.5 per cent of the state population, yet we've got just under a quarter of the representation in cabinet.
"That's incredible, and it gives us a great opportunity to advocate for a whole lot of issues. As they arise I can go to ministers directly."
The pressure is now on Mr Crakanthorp and Labor to deliver on a host of key infrastructure challenges in the region after years of stalled planning under the Coalition.
The proposed Hunter Park sports and entertainment precinct at Broadmeadow and a light rail line connecting it to the city are high on the list of infrastructure priorities in Newcastle.
Mr Crakanthorp said he had been in contact with Sports Minister Steve Kamper and Venues NSW chief executive Kerri Mather about receiving briefings on Hunter Park.
Venues NSW said last year that it had completed a business case for Hunter Park, but the government at the time disputed that it had been finalised.
"It was supposed to go to cabinet in November, supposed to go in December, supposed to go in January. Didn't end up going anywhere," Mr Crakanthorp said.
"That is something that I'll be talking to Steve Kamper about. We've been in touch with the minister's office about getting a briefing.
"Kerri Mather from Venues NSW has reached out. I've responded to that.
"We want to meet as soon as possible to get a briefing from Venues NSW on what they think is happening and how it's going to happen and with Steve Kamper to see when he can get a briefing, he can see where it's at and he can bring it to cabinet when he thinks it's appropriate."
But Mr Crakanthorp warned the previous government had left the state's finances in a parlous state.
"I think people can expect movement on these projects. We've got to be patient. The first step is seeing what's in the cupboard when we open the cupboard," he said.
"In terms of big-dollar commitments, the cupboard is pretty bare. We're seeing that.
"We're still finding our feet, but what we have found is a $7 billion black hole in the budget and a lot of the programs that had been committed to by the former government the funds just aren't there."
He said the harness racing track and club "absolutely need to move", most likely to Cessnock, before Hunter Park could proceed.
"It's about money. It was $20 million. It went up to $30 million, $40 million. Lately I've heard even higher.
"That's really a first step to freeing up that part of the precinct.
"The envisaged entertainment centre, that's the next big thing for that area, which raises the question of what you do with the old entertainment centre and the basketball courts.
"There's a lot of questions to be answered, so to get that briefing would be great. The money was allocated and spent on the business case. It must be there somewhere. Let's have a look at it."
Mr Crakanthorp said he had sought a briefing from Transport Minister Jo Haylen on preserving the light rail corridor after the Newcastle Herald reported on Wednesday that Transport for NSW had not objected to a developer's proposal to build a seven-storey car park across the projected route.
"It's something I've been very strong on, so of course I want to follow through on it," he said.
The Newcastle MP said the community was broadly supportive of federal government plans for an offshore wind park off the coast of Newcastle.
"A lot of people are concerned about being able to see it. The federal government's gone to great lengths to put it 20 kilometres off the coast so you can't see it.
"A lot of positive feedback. Of course, there's been environmental issues raised, but we'll see what the EIS has for that. They're not planned to be drilled into the rock bed."
He said Hunter manufacturers were "very keen" to be involved in emerging industries such as wind power and hydrogen.
"It's very exciting, and for us it's about jobs. The Labor party, we are the party of the people and jobs. Those Upper Hunter communities in particular are front and centre for us."
Mr Crakanthorp said his broad aim as Minister for the Hunter was to help the region transition smoothly from coal to new industries.
"Looking at the big picture, the portfolio for the Hunter, we've got massive change happening, so my vision, with the world's biggest coal port, is to try to set up the Hunter for the next 10 years and well beyond."
NSW Labor committed before the election to establishing a Hunter clean energy transition authority to help the region adjust to social and economic change in coming years.
The federal Labor government will commit to a national transition authority in next week's budget.
On the proposed Newcastle Education Precinct, another cause celebre for Mr Crakanthorp while in opposition, he said the plans had been "watered down" to a redevelopment of Newcastle High School, but he was "happy to see it finally moving along".
The Education Department promised in 2018 to build a "new public school to meet future enrolment growth" and upgrade the high school.
Department officials told budget estimates in 2021 that a primary school could be "inserted" into the high school campus at a later date, and the Coalition released concept images for the high school overhaul late last year.
"There still are plans for a high school and primary school. That was the original commitment," Mr Crakanthorp said.
"On that site certainly great opportunities for the community as well given they're going to model it on Ballina High School, which is a lot more open and interactive with the community.
"I know netball are very keen to see what facilities are built there.
"There was talk of a primary school closer to Marketown. There was a lot of community concern about that and a lot of council concern as well.
"I think it's quite sensible to move it back onto that precinct. It's a very large precinct. There's a lot of space on it. I think it will be able to accommodate it.
"If you look at the schools that they've been building in Sydney, in particular, a lot of them are going up quite high.
"For a school to make good use of its space by going up, then there's a lot of green space around it, is a good thing, and then you're not encroaching on more Crown land and more of National Park, which is ferociously guarded by the whole community."
The Newcastle Herald reported last month that NSW Land and Housing Corporation had completed early investigations into "reimagining" the troubled Hamilton South estate with a mix of new social and private housing.
Mr Crakanthorp, who has advocated for the government to preserve Newcastle's social housing stock, said Labor would watch the public-private redevelopment of social housing in the Sydney suburb of Waterloo "very closely" to see if it was a success.
"We've got a huge concentration of social housing in Hamilton South, in particular. We've got it at Light Street, we've got it at Stockton, in other parts of Hamilton South.
"I think it's a good thing to have a good mix within the community of all demographics ... rather than having a very high concentration, which brings its own problems, and the research would seem to indicate that's not the best model, so we'll be looking at all models and all opportunities.
"There's a rental crisis, there's homelessness all across the nation and there's also a skills shortage. It's the perfect storm. We've inherited a big mess."
Mr Crakanthorp said setting up a special entertainment precinct in Newcastle, with relaxed noise rules to promote live music, was a "great initiative", but it was up to City of Newcastle to decide where and how such a precinct would operate.
The new state government also faces a decision about whether to sign up Newcastle for another five years of Supercars.
"I'm waiting for the consultation to come out on that and I'll be informed by the community," Mr Crakanthorp said.
"I went to the community forum on Supercars and committed to taking their concerns to the Sports Minister.
"I think everyone acknowledges it wasn't well done in terms of the community consultation this year.
"It leaves a lot to be desired, and it's something I've always been very strong about: if it's going to occur, then it needs to be run really well, and it wasn't. I can understand the frustration."
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