The state government will make drought-proofing New South Wales its first priority, after receiving a huge cash injection.

The Coalition has more than $4 billion to spend after the federal government purchased the state’s share of the Snowy Hydro scheme.

Minister for Regional NSW John Barilaro tells Alan Jones the Snowy Hydro Legacy Fund will fund freight, aviation, fixing mobile phone blackspots and rail and road connectivity.

But, there’s one very clear priority.

“The $4.2 billion we received for Snowy Hydro, every single cent will be spent in regional New South Wales.

“The number one priority for us, that we’ve announced last night, is trying to drought-proof regional NSW.

“That is building dams and pipelines… harvest the water, once and for all.”

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Part of the fund is likely to be spent on funding a new corridor for a fast train between Sydney and Canberra.

“We want to identify where we can invest in faster rail,” says Mr Barilaro.

“Long term it’s got to be the VFT [Very Fast Train].

“It’s not just the Canberra-Sydney corridor. It’s getting up to the Central West, it’s getting up to Newcastle and we’ve got an opportunity to do it.”