Press Release

Transport and telecommunications infrastructure will feature in the keynote addresses for NSX: Investing In Innovation on Friday 24 May 2002 at Newcastle City Hall. NSX: Investing In Innovation 2002 sponsor Soul Pattinson Telecommunications Pty Limited (SPT) together with National Rail will feature as the events two main keynote addresses. SPT is a licensed telecommunications carrier that owns and operates a broadband telecommunications network between Sydney and Brisbane – with spurs into major regional centres of Northern NSW and South East Queensland. SPT is a wholly owned subsidiary of one of Australia's oldest publicly listed companies, Washington H Soul Pattinson and Company Limited. Michael Simmons, General Manager of SPT, will be explaining why SPT has been successful and why the two mediums, TV and Telco, complement each other. This innovation is occurring in regional areas throughout Australia and came from initiatives in the Hunter community. Mr Simmons said that convergence has been a popularly over used buzz word to justify some outrageous valuations of new multi-media business ventures leveraged on existing infrastructure. ‘SPT is a fledgling licensed telecommunications carrier that has achieved early success in a severely depressed telco environment. This is partly due to the success of convergence of mainstream broadcast media and telecommunications in a digital and IP world,’ Mr Simmons said. Former National Rail Chief Executive, Vince Graham, will tell the story of how a public corporation attracted private sector investment. Mr Graham was invited to participate in the Lawler Partners presentation to NSX: Investing In Innovation by Managing Director of Lawler Partners, Terry Lawler. Mr Lawler was appointed by the Australian Government to Chair National Rail as it moved from private to public ownership. Mr Lawler said that Vince Graham recently led National Rail Corporation through the successful $1.2 billion joint privatisation program with Freightcorp. ‘For more than 10 years Vince led a management team that turned around a business that was losing more than $300 million a year into a saleable business,’ Mr Lawler said. General Manager of the Stock Exchange of Newcastle (NSX), Scott Evans, said that in many ways these rail and telecommunications stories are indicative of both the nation’s and the Hunter region’s contribution to the Australian economy. For further information, please contact: Scott Evans, telephone: 02 4929 6377.