Taking politics out of infrastructure

Taking politics out of infrastructureA new independent body, established to guide Victoria’s infrastructure and planning priorities and oversee growth over the next 30 years, has been welcomed by the property industry.Infrastructure Victoria has been created to provide accountability on public spending, with special minister Gavin Andrews saying the new body puts “evidence and transparency at the front and centre of Victoria’s infrastructure decisions” and that those decisions will be “based on priorities not politics.”Premier Daniel Andrews has said that Infrastructure Victoria will consult widely and “take short-term politics out of infrastructure planning”.The Property Council has long advocated for the creation of a non-political infrastructure advisory body.According to the Property Council’s Victorian executive director, Jennifer Cunich, Infrastructure Victoria will be critical in helping the government oversee the growth management challenges faced in Australia’s most urbanised state.”If structured effectively, Infrastructure Victoria will ensure government decision-makers are provided with strategic, timely and transparent advice on the future infrastructure needs of the state,” Cunich says.One of Infrastructure Victoria’s first tasks will be the development of a 30-year infrastructure strategy – one which Cunich says is “pivotal to securing a strong economic future for Victoria”.This strategy will detail short-, medium- and long-term infrastructure needs, with the Victorian Government expected to respond with a five-year infrastructure plan outlining priority projects and funding commitments.”We encourage all political parties in Victoria’s Parliament to come together and support the creation of this important new authority,” Cunich adds.