Infrastructure Australia priority list a call to action
The Infrastructure Australia Priority List, published yesterday, provides the investment roadmap to support a growing nation, but governments need to do more to drive momentum says the Property Council.
The independent body updated its list of major infrastructure projects, which it says are needed to meet its rapidly growing population.
Australia’s population will increase by 11.8 million people over the next thirty years, which is the equivalent of adding two more cities the size of Melbourne and Sydney.
“This is a challenge we can’t afford to manage passively – we must plan for growth,” says Julieanne Alroe, Infrastructure Australia chair.
The priority list identifies $55 billion worth of potential projects, dominated by public transport and city-build initiatives. It also highlights several projects to improve connectivity between capitals and neighbouring cities.
Property Council chief executive Ken Morrison says Infrastructure Australia’s “clear-eyed report card” provides “invaluable guidance” for government and industry, but “there is a lot more work to do”.
He points out that the new IA Priority List includes 96 major infrastructure projects of strategic merit, but only 10 projects have graduated off the list since 2017 as they move into the construction phase.
“While the good news is that $25 billion worth of projects are off the list and under construction, there is a lot more planning needed across every city and a lot more investment to be found,” Morrison says.
Business cases have not been undertaken on 24 ‘high priority initiatives’ and “are therefore years away from starting”, he adds.
A further 60 ‘priority initiatives’ are also identified.
“Infrastructure Australia does a great job putting the brain power behind thinking about our future infrastructure needs, but it’s up to the Commonwealth and state and territory governments to actually fund and deliver the priority projects which have been identified.”
Morrison says the report underscores the need for Australian governments to “commit to action” on future infrastructure.