Scott Charlton
Scott Charlton, Chief Executive Officer, Transurban Key points: •
The pandemic has accelerated many trends in the transport sector, with the rapid uptake of remote working, telehealth, and ecommerce likely to have lasting impacts.
•
Governments need to pave the way for trends like autonomous and electric vehicle uptake by reducing regulatory barriers.
•
Governments also have an opportunity to undertake ambitious reforms like implementing road user charging for electric vehicles to ensure the long-term funding model for our roads is equitable and sustainable.
I am really pleased to be here with Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, and I am pleased that we can come together, albeit virtually. I am looking forward to being able to talk to everyone again face to face at events like this, hopefully in the not-too-distant future. And despite all of these challenges, congratulations to Infrastructure Partnerships Australia for continuing to stage what is always one of the most important events on our sector’s calendar.
10
This year, obviously it is more important than ever to have a forum like this, to hear and discuss the ideas, opportunities, and challenges our sector is facing. It is stating the obvious to say that this year has tested us in ways we could not have imagined just over six months ago. The tragic loss of life, the upheaval in our daily lives and the economic impact have been immense. I can honestly say that prior to COVID-19, we actually did have pandemic risk as one of our key risk areas, but we never
futurebuilding
2529_Future Building Vol 11.indd 10
2/12/20 10:24 am
