01x07 - The First Project

Episode transcripts for the 2014 TV show "Utopia" (AKA "Dreamland"). Aired October 2014 - 2019.*
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"Utopia" (AKA "Dreamland") follows the working lives of a team in a newly created government organisation responsible for overseeing major infrastructure projects, from announcement to unveiling. Set inside the offices of the "Nation Building Authority" it explores the collision between bureaucracy and grand ambitions.
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01x07 - The First Project

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Dean Martin: ♪ Volare... ♪

Man: Because it's a nation-building project...

Kevin Rudd: New infrastructure of the 21st century...

Woman: If there is a buzzword in this budget, it's 'nation-building'.

Anthony Albanese: Major infrastructure projects right around the country...

Man: Real projects, real money...

Man: A transformational vision for the infrastructure of the 21st century...

Tony Abbott: I want to be known as the infrastructure Prime Minister...

Woman: This is a nation-building budget...

Man: Nation-building for recovery...

Comes from the nation-building program... Nation-building...

Nation-building...

Nation-building...

Dean Martin: ♪ We can sing in the glow of a star that I know of ♪ Where lovers enjoy peace of mind... ♪

(Phone ringing)

Tony: No, no.

Nation Building Authority, Amy.

When you answered the phone before, you said 'Nation Building Australia'.

No, they're not the same thing.

No, we have nothing to do with the National Broadband Network, so you don't need to reply to those.

Oh, but I've just been getting all the reports...

Yeah, just give them the number of the National Broadband, and that's nothing to do with you.

What's this thing here?

A water audit.

They're upgrading our building to a 6-star rating.

You need to approve our floor.

Oh, well, I approve, so just...

You need to sign it.

OK.

Where it says 'sign'.

OK.

Is this the last I see of it? Yes?

Um... yes.

Thank you. Katie.

Nation Building Australia.

Authority, Amy.

Authority.

Thank you, Katie.

Oh, a geotechnical consultant by the name of Gavin is coming in and I need to see him the second he arrives.

Is he the structural engineer?

No. A geotechnical consultant called Gavin. Yeah.

What's his last name?

If you say 'Gavin', his head will turn round. OK?

Like, 'Gavin!'

Yeah, yeah.

Gavin. It doesn't matter the way you say it.

OK, timelines for everyone and I have sticky-taped them together.

Feel free to open them up.

Hey, sorry about that.

OK. Really didn't want timelines distributed right now.

Hey, can I say something right off the bat?

These are highly provisional timelines.

Whatever we're gonna do, it's gonna be a huge project, so we haven't even begun to do a meaningful time...

Is anyone else missing page three?

Yeah, I've got two page fours.

I wouldn't worry about timelines right now. Yes?

Can I just clarify something?

Sure, Amy.

Red is the consultation phase, blue is schematic...

That's about timelines again.

..yellow is design and development and green is the documentation.

Mine's in black and white.

I wouldn't worry about the colour-coding.

It's a general left to right...

It's the printer.

We'll get the printer fixed.

Now? No, not now.

Shall I minute that?

Minute what, Amy?

About the printer?

No, just get it fixed.

Look, you know what?

Timelines down...

Yes, Katie?

Oh!

Those ones are normal and those ones are gluten free.

Who's gluten free?

Carol.

Who's Carol?

Carol's no longer here.

Do you want me to get the gluten put back in?

No, leave it out for today.

OK.

Go back to gluten.

OK, can I just have everyone's attention?

We're yet to decide exactly what the NBA is going to do.

Who's the NBA?

Us, Scott.

Nation Building Australia.

Authority, Amy.

The point is, nothing's locked in, so worrying about years two, three and four is absolutely crazy.

Tony?

Is this about the timelines?

No.

OK. With the water audit...

Let's just concentrate on Authority business for the moment.

But should I add it to the timeline?

Forget the timeline!

I'm sorry. Just, please.

There's only one thing we have to do over the next six months, and that is work out what is possible on the site, which is a tricky site, so it has a very detailed, disciplined, technical job.

We need to really focused... on...

Yeah...

Got a second?

Sure.

Yeah. Hey, guys, how are ya?

What happened here?

Oh, it's nothing.

Just a thought.

I was driving in today and I couldn't...

Just say it, just say it.

We need a new push.

A what?

A push. You know, like a thrust.

Again, I have no idea what you're talking about.

Something we can put out there just to let people know that we're on the move.

Is there a problem?

No, they love it.

Nation Building Australia.

Authority.

Authority.

It's just that since the launch, with all the coverage and the attention, we came out of the blocks with a big splash...

Sure, yeah.

..and now it's all gone a bit quiet.

But that's 'cause it was a launch.

Now we've actually got to try and do what we said we'd do.

What did we say we'd do again?

I've sent you this five times...

In your words.

We said we'd oversee a series of iconic and visionary projects...

Ah, yes.

..revitalise inner urban land, three tiers of government...

Yes...nation-build for future generations, I mean, just...

Yes, I love all of that.

Where's that gone?

In the launch.

Now we're trying to actually do it.

Great. We'll tell them that.

Tell them what?

That we're away.

That we're nation-building.

That we're being iconic.

OK, you know what?

I'll have a think about it.

Great. Nation builders!

Don't hide your light under a bushel!

Need some sort of... push.

A push?

Or something we can announce.

Oh. A push...

What did he want?

He wants a push.

What's a push?

Oh, just to show that we're underway, that we're on the move.

But we're not.

No.

You don't have a possibility or a feasibility that we could just let out there with that?

What about the... where did we get to on the marina?

Oh, it's very early days.

Wasn't there a ferry group...?

It's a lot more complicated.

But they stated an intention...

Whole bunch of dredging issues...

But, I mean, they want...

There's a bunch of other snags.

Can't push that.

No. Oh, remember we mentioned the transport corridor?

Remember there was an old railway line with the easement still attached.

Oh, yeah.

What stage are we at on that?

That stage. The mentioning stage.

You don't have a title?

No.

But is there sort of a... they keep the easement on the...? No.

But nothing written?

It's... mentioned.

Almost a push.

It sounds pushable.

Do you want me to have a look at it?

Yeah, could you?

Just in general terms.

Don't spend the day on it.

OK, I won't. Alright.

'Cause it might be something that, um...

We can push.

We could push. Yeah.

It's just an annoyance, that's all, with all the things that we've got...

Why is the water off?

Dunno.

Alright, let's think.

What are we doing right now?

Shall I get the timeline?

No, no.

I mean physically, what are we doing?

Surveying.

OK. And where are we on that?

About to start.

Oh.

Can we announce that?

What, that we haven't started?

We're about to.

Have we finished anything? No.

I mean, not that we have to - we're just at the beginning.

Stage one.

Stage one. Of course, exactly.

All the interesting stuff starts after that.

Stage two.

Could we announce that?

I was just thinking that.

But you can't really announce...

There's your page three.

And yours.

Thank you.

Ah, just to let you know, the water might be off at some stage today.

It's actually off, Amy.

Oh, good.

No, but I...

I wasn't missing page three, Amy.

You can keep it as a spare.

I cannot find any record of it.

I think I've got a good map of the line.

Oh, yep?

It's marked as a railway easement.

Excellent.

What department are you on?

Google Earth.

I think we need an official department. Like a proper title.

Hang on, this is interesting.

What?

With Google Maps, there's a ruler tool...

A proper title, Hugh.

Gotcha.

Close Google Earth.

OK.

Sorry. Got caught up with Helen.

Oh, how is she?

She is flat out. As am I.

Where are we at?

In what sense?

With the push.

Oh, I only found out about it this morning, so...

Yeah, and where are we at?

Uh... we don't have one.

We need one.

Nation Building Australia is on the move.

Authority.

Yes, with authority.

On the move, the push is on.

Yep.

This is interesting.

There was a whole report on the train line a few years back.

Really?

Yeah.

How did you find that?

Google.

When I typed 'transport strategy' and added 'shelved' -

'rail corridor restoration shelved'.

They did a business model.

And there was an implementation plan as well.

I wonder what happened.

Can I just explain something about...?

With the site, we are literally at the pre-survey stage.

I mean, literally, the first survey peg's about to go in the ground.

Oh, good news, we are away.

No, we're not.

We will have some things to announce at stage two...

Mm-hm. Love it.

What did you love?

Stage two. No, I said we WILL have some thing to announce at stage two.

Yep.

But we won't be there for months.

What are you doing now?

Stage one.

That feels finished.

Starting stage one IS stage one.

Now... we're at stage.

We're at stage two.

It doesn't make sense.

Well, it does to me, sweetheart.

Why are you being so stingy with stages?

You can have as many as you like.

Just keep adding them.

The stages have to actually make sense.

Like first pegs going in.

You just said it.

It's a peg.

It's not a peg. It's a peg!

Peg goes in! We begin!

Ohh...

Do you love that?

I love that.

Let's get it out there.

Begin what?

The pegs.

Yes. No.

Yes.

Rhonda. Rhonda. Rhonda.

Yes.

You're texting.

Mm-hm.

Now you're doing it under the desk.

Look, I have been doing this a long time. Trust me.

Stage two is exactly what we're looking for.

It's a push.

So, come on, push, push, push.

Nat: Got a sec?

Yeah. Uh, just give me two, guys.

Hugh found something interesting.

With Google Maps. If you...

About the railway line. Oh, yeah, no, sorry, that is interesting.

Turns out there were plans to recommission the old rail line.

Were there?

Quite detailed.

Any idea why the proposal didn't get up?

I don't think the economic model stacked up.

It was gonna be a bit of a white elephant.

That's not for us to judge.

Sure.

Long time ago.

Not really.

But a lot's changed since then, Hugh.

My point is, we shouldn't stop just 'cause of one small problem.

I think there were others.

Again, long time ago.

Could be a push?

Could be.

I mean, it could be THE push.

Keep going.

Be there in a sec.

Morning, Amy.

Morning.

Can I just grab you for a sec?

What did you want?

You need to choose.

What are they?

Low-flow showerheads.

And why am I choosing?

For the water audit.

Oh. Is there a difference?

Not really.

OK, well, that one.

Sure. As long as you're happy.

You said there was no diff...

OK, well, the other one.

What was that expression for?

What expression?

You just did this...

It's just that one's a bit more expensive than the other.

You said there was no difference between them.

Well, in water saving, they're the same...

Well, one does save a bit more than the other.

Which one saves more water?

Um, the... left...

That doesn't look right, does it?

No.

Which is the more expensive one?

I mean, this feels like an announcement.

It just feels like a long way off, though.

But it's got the word 'hub' written on it. That reads well.

Does. Now, the problem with all this stuff is that most of them will take at least the rest of the year to complete.

And stage two gets announced next month.

Yep. When was that decided?

There was an email. From Rhonda.

Oh... Could we just say in this office, as far as we're concerned, there's no such thing as stage two?

Do you want me to stop the new timeline?

It's gonna have the word stage two in it. Fine.

In orange.

Whatever. OK.

What is something that we could start and complete within, say, a month?

Mm. Site branding.

What's that?

I don't know.

Sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry. That took longer than anything should.

No worries.

Right, how's it going?

Good, good.

The railway?

Yeah, no, good, I spoke to a bunch of people.

No issues?

No.

Easement remains, it's all intact.

Well, that's good.

Oh, uh, one of the planners who was involved with the original report, he's a cyclist, like he rides a bicycle...

I know what he does.

Well, he's part of the peak cycling body which is a group of...

I know what a peak body is.

He had some minor reservations.

Did he?

Just a couple of queries and wondered if he could come in and see us.

Did he mention a bike path?

No, just a few reservations and queries.

That's a bike path.

No, I don't think so.

Alright, you know what?

See if he can come in today.

OK.

Amy.

Why is the dishwasher in the corridor?

Because of the audit.

What aspect?

It's 3.5 star.

Isn't that good?

We're getting a 5 star.

Well, when does that come?

Should have been here yesterday.

Well, when does this go?

Should have gone this morning.

Katie: Tony?

Well, yep... Yeah?

It's Rhonda.

Oh, Rhonda.

Scottie, can you bring your timeline?

Rhonda, it's Tony.

Rhonda: Great, love it. Hello?

Yep. OK. Have you read the email?

Yep.

All the way to the end?

Or just the subject heading and the first paragraph?

Mm-hm, yep, yeah, I definitely will.

But, listen, site branding, love it.

Let's lock that in.

Yeah, can I just explain what site branding is, Rhonda?

Mm, mm, please, go.

OK.

As it pertains to this site, you know with big developments, they often have a fence with the name on it?

Mm, love it.

Yep.

And sometimes they have photos or designs of what it will look like?

Oh, love it. Mm-hm.

Can you just stop saying 'love it' until I've finished, like, the whole explanation?

Sure, sure, love it, yep, mm-hm.

Yep. OK.

And sometimes they'll add a flag or bunting or whatever.

Mm, love bunting.

Yep, yep, but at the end of the day, with site branding, I mean, that's all it is, it's just a fence.

And a gate.

They often have a big gate, Rhonda.

OK, well, tick to that.

Now, we're launching stage two.

We've already got pegs, now we've got site branding.

Sounds very exciting to me.

OK, Rhonda, can I just ask you something?

Can we just keep a lid on it for the moment?

Yep, yep, absolutely.

Just for now.

Mm-hm, yep.

Did you hear what I said?

Mm-hm, yep, yep.

It's just often when you're multitasking, you-you...

Yep. Yep. Yep.

Yep, OK...

What?

Just keep a lid on it.

Yes, lid, love it.

OK.

One of the surveyors is here.

Oh, does he work with Gavin?

Possibly.

Well, does he have a lot of plans with him?

Um...

Does he have a big tube?

Yes.

OK. Just put him in the boardroom.

Is it OK if I move the showerheads?

Hello. Sorry. Hi.

Thanks for coming in.

Natalie.

Bruce.

Nice to meet you, Bruce.

Hi. Hugh. Nice to meet you.

Tom.

Shall we start?

Yeah.

It's very early days for the project.

We're gonna get to the broader transport issues down the track.

I mean, we're just having a quick look at the old railway line.

Sure. We thought we'd just take this opportunity to make our feelings clear.

You're not against trains, are you?

No, no.

Good.

Not per se.

But, say, there was an announcement coming out of this office sometime in the future.

I think it's next month.

And that announcement was to float the possibility of reconsidering an earlier proposal to reconsider the possibility of recommissioning an old train line.

I mean, you wouldn't have an objection to that?

As we get the information, then we can get...

(Knocking)

Yep?

Can I grab you for five minutes?

Yeah, yeah.

I'll be right back.

Actually ten.

Or half an hour.

Why don't we take a break?

Just to have a morning tea.

Have we still got those muffins?

Yeah.

Is anyone here gluten intolerant?

Carol.

Yeah, but... she's no longer here.

She's no longer here.

No. OK.

Yep. Site branding.

It's exactly what I thought it was.

Mm-hm.

Fence you put...

I don't see what the urgency was.

I walked out on a meeting with the geotechnical guys.

Well, it's just that Rhonda wanted you to see an example before our meeting.

What meeting?

With the design team.

What design team?

The site branding design team.

Uh, Karnsten's here to see you.

Yep. Yep.

If you want to just take a seat.

It's Karsten.

Karnsten? Karsten?

Karsen.

Karsten.

Sorry, Karsten. Karsten.

Karsten.

Alright, good. Here's Scott.

Scott, Karsten.

Karsen.

Karsten.

Karnsten.

Kars... No, there's no 'N'.

I suspect there's one at the end.

Yeah.

Yep. And a 'K' at the beginning?

Sure.

OK.

Yep, let's get started.

Yeah, let's away.

OK, now, before I show you some options, I thought we'd start with some ideation.

Can we do that at the end?

How would that work?

What's that's mean?

Sorry, keep going, yep. Sorry.

What is the project?

I don't know that yet.

OK, well, what building or buildings do you see being built on the site?

Oh, well, something iconic, something visionary, something nation-building...

There it is.

Do you know anything that definitely will be built on the site?

Uh... definitely a fence.

Plus or minus a gate.

Yep. It looks like we're gonna build a fence.

Mm.

Mm-hm.

OK, you said something interesting before.

That I've got a meeting at 2:30?

That is was a place of possibilities.

Oh, yeah, that's...

Mm, I love this. Do you love this?

This is what he does.

This is what he does.

Yep. I-T-I... Yep.

Now let's just tease that out a little bit.

I've sort of teased it out by spelling it.

Have we got any coloured markers in here?

I'll get some.

Thank you, Scottie.

You might... Yep.

According to Google Earth, I think this is the bit here.

Well, there's a train line here.

Oh, OK.

I reckon that's it, then.

Actually that's a giveaway.

See that? Railways.

Yep. Nice.

I guess it would make a perfect bike path.

Sorry?

It's flat, wide -

I can see their point.

Can you also see a railway line?

Yeah. Yeah, no, if you look at it, you can...

And all we're saying is, let's use it for its original purpose.

Trains.

Yes.

Katie: Tony?

Did you need to see a Colin?

No.

Structural engineer?

Oh, yeah.

Is he here about the pilings or the geotechnical survey?

No, he's here about a fence.

Something to do with site branding, through Rhonda.

Can you get him a coffee and pop him in the boardroom?

The water's still off.

I have to go downstairs.

Actually take the ten.

I'll have one as well.

Sure.

Scottie, Tony, do you know anything about this Colin guy, a structural engineer?

We've got him...

You did know?

No, I didn't get the email.

But my settings are the same...

Just hang on a second.

Stage two. You're a genius!

OK. Jim... OK.

Mate, you need to understand something about...

Where'd he go?

OK, where...

Did Jim come just through here?

No?

Colin, is it?

Colin: Yes.

Did a guy just walk past here with a thing on his...?

Did he?

Sorry about the rush, Colin.

No worries. I can see you're busy.

Yeah, a little bit on.

Bit more than we thought.

At the end of the day, it's not a big job, is it?

No. But you want it before the launch?

Oh, yeah, whenever that is.

The 22nd.

How'd you know it was the 22nd?

At least that's what I was told.

Katie: Yep.

Apparently they wanted it fast-tracked?

Yep, that's right, 22nd, 9:30.

Thanks, Colin.

Yeah.

Are you right to see yourself out?

Yes.

Yeah, good on you, thank you.

Did you not get told?

Why is there two dishwashers in the corridor?

Because the one you ordered didn't fit. Didn't order.

We either adjust the bench or get a different model.

Or put the first one back in.

That's 3.5 stars.

3.5 stars. Amy wants 5 stars.

Where is Amy?

Getting another dishwasher.

How's it going?

Good.

Really?

Uh, yeah, it's perfect.

The whole corridor's still there.

So there's no... planning issues or anything like...?

None that we could find.

So there's nothing standing in our way.

Apart from the cyclists.

How did cyclists get involved?

Well, they came in and...

They came in?!

What's the point of all these lanyards if we can't keep cyclists out of here?!

I knew they had an issue.

Issue?

Why are cyclists against an old railway line being turned into a railway line?

They think it's the thin end of the wedge. What wedge?

When these opportunities come up, they feel if they don't put their foot down, they lose out.

Oh, seriously.

I need something for the 22nd.

And right now it is a choice between a potentially headline-grabbing transport initiative and a fence!

You know what?

I just need one or two groups that the journos can ring on the day to say how wonderful it is that we are recommitting to public transport.

That's all.

We'll do a ring around. OK.

No, very early stages.

We just want to touch base with a few stakeholder groups.

Yes. So would the Public Transport Users Association be broadly supportive?

OK, just... just supportive.

So I guess what I'm asking is, would Rail Australia be supportive?

Generally supportive? I mean, in principle, would you support...?

Uh-huh. Why is that?

I mean, supportive and broadly supportive are quite close in...

No, OK. Just supportive.

But in terms of support, on a scale of 1 to 10...

Right.

And when you say 1... which end?

I'm sorry, I can't give you an answer on tolls.

No, we're not involved with the Very Fast Train.

No, no, that's a different group.

No, can I...?

I'm not sure what the number is, sorry.

Well, can you explain what those objections would be?

Oh, I was expecting... Yep.

No, no, that-that's fine.

So no is the answer. Alright.

Come on, Karnsen... Kartsen.

What's his name again?

I've forgotten where the 'N' goes now.

Honestly, I don't know why he can't email us this stuff.

Well, it's just Rhonda said to get a proper feel...

Listen, take my advice, don't listen to Rhonda, alright?

Is that something you sit on?

I think it's a sculpture.

Karsten: Morning, Tony.

Oh, good morning, Karsten.

How are you?

Morning, Scott.

Yeah.

Have you guys been here before?

Uh, no, no.

Why don't I give you a quick tour?

Great.

Oh, look, I don't... we...

OK, great.

Now, you'll have to forgive me if some of these seem a little bit rushed.

It's a tight timeline to make the 21st.

It's actually the 22nd.

No, it is the 21st.

Can you CC me on this stuff?

Just whenever you get an email from our end, can you fire it through to me?

She texted me.

Alright, can I get everyone just to close their eyes?

Given it's the 21st now, I reckon we keep our eyes open.

OK, well, let's look at a few examples.

Oh!

OK, so, this is great, this is one that we're doing in Brisbane.

Just with a few 3-D representations.

Yeah, that's great, uh... Karns...

You know what?

You can email this stuff to us.

I mean, you don't need to drag us all... You're not dragging us.

Well, this way, you get a feel for the visuals in some sort of context.

Better ideation.

Indeed.

Now, this is... this is something interesting.

This is one we did in Jakarta.

How'd it go?

Good. Awful.

Big long meeting about a fence.

Uh, but have you managed to come up with anything from your side?

What?

For the push.

No.

Oh.

What do you mean 'oh'?

Public Transport Users Association.

What possible issue could they have with public transport?

Fare structures, zones...

There was just a bunch of potential unresolved issues.

Well, resolve them. But at least they could support us in principle.

Nat and Tony: Not by the 21st.

AMA. That's not the AMA.

They don't have an official policy, but it's passive transport and they've got an obesity issue.

I think the cyclists got to them.

(Sighs)

Why would the Rail Heritage Society have a problem with railways?

They think the trains might damage the tracks.

No, it's a fair point.

We're putting in new tracks.

They want to preserve the old ones.

Oh, for f*ck's sake!

We're not gonna get it sorted by the 21st.

Are you telling me no-one is for this proposal?

Infrastructure Australia.

I mean, they'd want it as a tunnel, so you'd have the trains going through...

No-one? Look, I think in the end most of them will be for it.

But not by the 21st?

No.

Shall I get the timeline?

Yeah.

No.

Nup.

Nation builders! Hey?

Here's the man I've been looking for.

How good is this?

What?

It's a mock-up of the fence.

Have you not seen it?

No.

It's going in the press pack.

Great.

Well done.

We are all set for the 17th.

21st.

Uh, they moved the date again.

But one question does keep coming up.

What is stage two?

No. No, no-one's asked that.

More... what's something the ministers can do on the day?

Ministers?

Yeah, two state, three federal.

All due to you.

You should be very proud.

But what's something they can do?

I don't know, speak?

Oh, they'll speak, don't worry about that.

Physically, once they've all said what an exciting day it is, is there something they can actually do?

This is what I tried to point out from day one...

Doesn't have to be big.

A bit of business, something symbolic of what we're doing.

We haven't done anything.

You've put up a fence.

And a gate.

There's a gate? Mm-hm.

Can they open the gate?

It's locked.

Can they unlock it?

Maybe have an official padlock and hand over the keys.

I love this.

No, no, no, no.

Can they plant something?

What?

A mighty oak.

It's grassland.

Why would you put tree on it?

Can they dig something? They've got those shiny shovels they use.

We do need to do that soil testing.

Yeah, we do.

Ahh. Perfect. There's four ideas.

Yep?

Yep.

I'll leave it with ya.

Have a think, get back to me.

OK.

Great.

Which one are you gonna pick?

Parking information for you and the delegations is just in there and security is from 8.

Katie, Authority.

What?

We're Nation Building Authority.

Oh, I'll redo those sheets.

You OK?

(Sighs)

We're about to launch a stage in this project that is exactly the same as the previous stage.

And we're gonna have five dignitaries...

Seven. Traditional owners.

Seven dignitaries standing in front of a fence.

And a gate.

And a gate.

For the purpose of driving a peg into the ground.

You know what really worries me?

That Rhonda might pull this off?

She just might pull it off.

Reporter: Global share market jitters on inflation fears, floods continue to create havoc in Eastern Europe and back home, pegs in the ground, as our nation builders declare stage two.
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