28 minute read
The Hon Anthony Albanese | Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development; and Shadow Minister for Tourism
The Hon Anthony Albanese
Key points:
• there is a need for real leadership and bipartisanship to overcome infrastructure challenges and decide on a national energy policy • infrastructure funding is declining while off-budget investment is increasing, but grant funding cannot be substituted with innovative financing arrangements, and • Labor is focused on reforming Infrastructure Australia and placing city policy at the centre of government.
Let me begin with a quote:
‘Infrastructure Partnerships Australia … has been fundamentally about using information and data to better inform the national infrastructure debate, allowing the sector and wider community to better discern infrastructure fact from fiction.’
Those were the words of someone who is very familiar to us: Brendan Lyon. In his decade at the helm of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia, Brendan took a nascent industry body and transformed it into one of Australia’s most respected and effective public policy organisations.
Under the leadership of Brendan, and Adrian Dwyer, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia has more than fulfilled the mission expressed in the quote I opened with. In doing that, it has highlighted the virtues of stable leadership. Federal politics could take a leaf out of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia’s book.
Consider this: during Brendan’s 10-year tenure as CEO, there were six Prime Ministers. And Adrian, who has only been in the role for a short period of time, is already onto his second Prime Minister and second Infrastructure Minister.
While the comings and goings in Canberra have not been good for the nation’s body politic, the stability at the top of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia has been a key to its success. This stability has enabled the organisation to recruit a professional, dedicated staff and to develop a strong policy platform and an extensive body of research and build trusting relationships both within the sector, and within the corridors of power around the country.
But we don’t always agree on everything. Nor should we.
The long-term national interest is best served when we debate our differences and challenge each other’s ideas. Any such debate needs to take place within a framework of civility and mutual respect. Sadly, too much of our public discourse these days lacks those two basic elements.
The predicament facing modern democracies was best summed up by former President of the United States Barack Obama, who, in his last speech in office, made the following observation:
‘…in the course of a healthy debate, we’ll prioritise different goals, and the different means of reaching them. But without some common baseline of facts; without a willingness to admit new information and concede that your opponent is making a fair point, and that science and reason matter, we’ll keep talking past each other, making common ground and compromise impossible.’
Finding that elusive ‘common ground’ is what makes forums like this so important.
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia has managed to bring together some of Australia’s most senior political, public-sector and business leaders to engage with each other and discuss the national reforms that will fix our infrastructure.
The need to achieve a consensus around the way forward is more urgent than ever before – particularly after five years of policy drift and complacency at the national level. Simply put, Australia is at a critical crossroads.
As noted in a report released in September by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities, entitled ‘Building Up and Moving Out’:
‘Australia is undergoing rapid change. Population growth, urbanisation, the ageing of the population and the transformation of the economy towards service and knowledgebased industries are causing profound changes in the urban and regional landscape. The outcome of these changes will depend on how they are managed.’
It is obvious that managing those demographic, spatial and technological changes will not be easy. It will require national leadership with a clear, coherent vision of how we, as a people, can shape a better future rather than allow other forces to shape it for us.
There is one more important ingredient to success: real leadership. Real leadership requires a vision and agenda for the future, and the maturity to reach across the aisle and build bipartisanship wherever possible. Overcoming the big infrastructure challenges facing Australia – be they in the areas of energy, telecommunications, water or transport – will simply not be possible in a single parliamentary term, or even the tenure of any one government. Real reform takes time to deliver the desired change.
Energy policy in disarray
If you want an example of where naked partisanship has wrecked a prevailing consensus in this country and harmed the national interest, you only need to look at energy policy.
In 2007, in what, at the time, was a breakthrough, both sides of politics acknowledged that the most cost-effective way of reducing harmful emissions was to put a price on carbon. Both major parties went to the election that year committed to implementing an emissions trading scheme. Unfortunately, that consensus only held for two years before the denialists in the Coalition and the purists in the Greens political party, tore it down.
Once in government, the Coalition proceeded to dismantle the market-based mechanism that was working – emissions were falling and investment in the energy of the future was increasing. Since then, we have witnessed a debate, mostly within the Government itself, that has plumbed new depths of the absurd and no amount of spin and denial can conceal that sad reality.
We have even witnessed the so-called ‘party of free markets’ arguing for new taxpayer-funded coal-fired power stations, and for governments to have the power to order private companies to divest themselves of particular assets. We have had an emissions intensity scheme, a clean energy target and various versions of the National Energy Guarantee. All proposed, considered and then rejected by the party that proposed them it the first place. As a result, our country is now in its fifth year without a coherent energy policy.
That’s five years without the regulatory certainty that investors have rightly sought in order to make the investments that would have increased the supply of affordable, reliable electricity into the national grid. It is little wonder that industry and households are now suffering under higher prices. And when you thought the situation could not get more depressing, the Government has now given up the charade of trying to have an energy policy.
It is now official: the Coalition’s policy is not to have a policy. It has thrown its hands up in the air, admitting that governing is
Source – Allens
all too hard. This is despite Labor’s repeated offer to work with the Coalition to put measures in place that would be in the longterm national interest.
Understandably, the Coalition’s capitulation to inertia has been condemned by the business community. In the words of the Chief Executive of the Business Council of Australia, Jennifer Westacott:
‘Without locking in this overarching framework, investment uncertainty will continue to be unresolved and the national electricity market will remain unfi t for purpose.’
Cities
There is now broad political agreement that the national government has a role to play in making our cities work better. It is a consensus that was hard won.
One of Tony Abbott’s fi rst acts as Prime Minister was to abolish the Major Cities Unit and retreat from our cities. He also disbanded the Urban Policy Forum, scrapped the annual State of Australian Cities report, and cancelled all public transport projects that were not already under construction, including the Melbourne Metro. Thankfully, the Abbott years were only a temporary setback.
While his successors have accepted the principle of federal involvement in building more productive, sustainable and livable cities, their actions have lacked substance. Take, for example, Malcolm Turnbull’s signature policy, City Deals. In the view of the bipartisan parliamentary report I referred to earlier, while the program ‘excited much interest’, it had delivered ‘limited results’.
We must – and can – do better. That starts with having the right processes. That’s why we recently announced our commitment to replace City Deals with a City Partnerships programme that will foster more genuine collaboration between the three levels of government. To achieve this, we will: ► re-establish the Major Cities Unit within the independent Infrastructure Australia, and task it with recommending and assessing the progress of City Partnerships ► establish an expert panel to update strategic planning guidelines for cities, and develop guidelines for City Partnerships, in consultation with the Minister, which include benefi ts to the economy, and ► refresh the National Urban Policy, which was released when I was the Infrastructure Minister in the former Federal Labor Government. This would ensure that City Partnerships align with the National Urban Policy objectives in areas like sustainability and smart technology.
The challenges facing our cities are complex. But if we are going to unlock their potential, and the potential of those living in them, then we must take a holistic and strategic approach that is underpinned by evidence and good governance.
Infrastructure Australia
Another idea long championed by Labor that now enjoys bipartisan support is Infrastructure Australia, and the need for an evidence-based approach to assessing the nation’s immediate and long-term infrastructure needs.
This is another example of where the Coalition has adopted the principle, but not the substance. While it is true that the government retained Infrastructure Australia, the independent body has been effectively sidelined. The most recent example of this was the decision to strip it of its role in advising governments on how projects can best be fi nanced – the Coalition handed that responsibility over to its new Infrastructure Financing Unit. This was despite Infrastructure Partnerships Australia and others telling the Government
that such a body was completely unnecessary. More than 12 months later, the Unit has not brought forward the delivery of a single new project.
Infrastructure financing
That brings me to the broader issue of infrastructure financing. It is here that the Coalition has been challenging the longstanding political consensus and collective wisdom (seduced by the idea that you can build things for free) that you can substitute ‘innovative’ financing arrangements, like value capture, Public Private Partnerships and equity investments, for grant funding.
Don’t get me wrong, Labor readily accepts that these arrangements can play a role in closing the infrastructure funding gap. When we were last in office, we employed innovative funding solutions to deliver several major projects, including the Legacy Way road project in Brisbane, the NorthConnex road project, the Moorebank Intermodal in Sydney and the Gold Coast Light Rail.
If we win the next Federal Election, we will join with the Queensland Government to deliver South East Queensland’s number one infrastructure priority, Cross River Rail, via a Public Private Partnership.
We understand that the private sector has an important role to play in building public infrastructure. But governments cannot avoid the fact that they will have to stump up taxpayers’ dollars if they want projects to happen – particularly urban public transport projects.
As Infrastructure Partnerships Australia has pointed out:
‘Commonwealth Government funding support is needed for infrastructure – Commonwealth financing is not.
‘If the budget seeks to materially increase the pace, quality and scale of national infrastructure investment, we respectfully submit that Government policy needs to return to real options, which include grant funding.’
The bottom line is that grant funding is vital, and less of it will mean less infrastructure. That’s precisely what the Coalition is promising to deliver if re-elected.
As confirmed in the 2018 Budget Papers, federal infrastructure grant funding will fall over the next four years to its lowest level since the early 2000s, declining from $8 billion in 2017–18 to $4.5 billion in 2021–22. The independent Parliamentary Budget Office has concluded that grant funding, expressed as a proportion of gross domestic product (GDP) and based on current budget allocations, will halve over the next decade from 0.4 per cent to 0.2 per cent. That’s a 50 per cent cut.
Alongside cutting grant funding going forward, the Government’s infrastructure programme has been plagued by project delays, missed deadlines and botched program rollouts. Too often, grand announcements are made and then nothing happens. Over its first four budgets, this Government has invested $4.7 billion less than it promised. That’s a massive 20 per cent underspend.
Thanks to the Senate Estimates process, I can reveal that during the last financial year, 127 projects around the country were running behind schedule, which is largely the product of poor planning and inadequate project oversight.
Given the totality of the Coalition’s record, it is not surprising that over their time in office Australia has slipped from 18th to 28th on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index when it comes to the adequacy, quality and efficiency of our infrastructure.
That’s my take on where we stand today as a nation. Given recent events in Canberra and the resulting division, chaos and suspicion that now grips the Government benches, I am sad to say that I cannot see the situation improving in the short-term.
Federal Labor’s approach
To those who ask what a future Labor Government would do, I would point them to our record the last time we had the privilege of governing this great nation. If we are successful at the coming election, you will have in me a Minister who is experienced and a known quantity. While Prime Ministers have come and gone, there has been one fixture in the Federal Parliament over the past decade, and that has been Labor’s infrastructure spokesman. I have held this portfolio for almost as long as Infrastructure Partnerships Australia has existed.
Alongside establishing institutions such as Infrastructure Australia and the Major Cities Unit to break the nexus between the three or four-year electoral cycle and the much longer investment cycle, the former Federal Labor Government also: ► restored national leadership via my appointment as Australia’s first ever Federal Infrastructure Minister, and the creation of a Federal Infrastructure Department
► built and upgraded 7500 kilometres of road, including completing the duplication of the Hume Highway, accelerating the upgrade of the Pacific Highway to a dual carriageway, and improving the safety and flood immunity of hundreds of kilometres of the Bruce Highway ► rebuilt one-third of the interstate rail freight network – some 4000 kilometres of track, and ► committed more funding to urban rail infrastructure than all of our predecessors since Federation combined.
Overall, we more than doubled annual federal infrastructure spending from $132 to $265 per Australian, taking Australia from 20th out of 25 OECD countries to number one when it came to investment in public infrastructure as a proportion of national income.
We did all of that despite our government being confronted with the most severe and far-reaching global economic downturn since the Great Depression of 1929. It’s this record that will provide the template for what we will do the next time. In short, there will be two key elements to Labor’s infrastructure agenda for the nation.
Firstly, if we are to maximise its economic, social and environmental dividends, infrastructure policy must be right. That starts with a genuine commitment to a long-term strategy based on an objective, evidence-based assessment of the nation’s infrastructure needs.
In practice, that will involve returning Infrastructure Australia to the centre of the Government’s decision-making process and respecting its advice. We will provide it with the resources it needs to perform its core functions, including assessing projects, producing an infrastructure pipeline and recommending financing mechanisms.
The importance of having an effective Infrastructure Australia cannot be overstated. While the quantity of available investment is important, so is ensuring that taxpayers get value for money. It is imperative that funding goes to projects that will fix an identified problem – projects where the planning has been done, and those that offer the highest economic, social and environmental returns. Simply put, more zeros on a project’s price tag do not automatically mean that the project is a better solution than a cheaper alternative.
Secondly, we will reverse the projected decline in federal investment and provide real funding to the real projects that have been identified and properly assessed by a re-empowered Infrastructure Australia.
Not only will we proceed with all of the new projects announced in the 2018 Budget, but we will also add to them to create an even more ambitious capital works programme, particularly in urban public transport. A future Federal Labor Government will invest in Brisbane’s Cross River Rail project. In Sydney, we will partner with the state to build the Metro West and ensure that the new Western Sydney Airport is connected to the city’s passenger rail network from the day it opens.
Labor understands that as one of the most urbanised nations on the planet, Australia’s continued prosperity will largely depend on how successful we are at making our cities work better. That demands investment in both road and rail infrastructure.
On energy, we will end the years of policy confusion and establish a clear mechanism that will drive down emissions. This will provide investment certainty that will lead to lower electricity prices for businesses and households.
On communications, we will have a broadband network built on 21st-century fibre, not 19th-century copper. Our network will revolutionise the delivery of essential services, such as health and education, and will unleash the growth potential of our regions.
That’s only for starters. We will have much more to say about infrastructure between now and election day. After all, Labor is the party of nation building.
Conclusion
Let me conclude by stating a truism: good government is about planning and building for the future. In order to drive long-term economic growth, build inclusive communities and transition to a low-carbon future, it is imperative that we get infrastructure policy right.
Achieving this will require collaboration between governments and the private sector. Above all, it will require bold thinking and long-term vision.
In short, Australia needs real leadership. Our long-term national interest demands nothing less. I am confident that that is precisely what the next Labor Government will deliver.
The Hon Anthony Albanese MP – Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development and Shadow Minister for Tourism
Anthony Albanese was re-elected the Member for Grayndler at the July 2016 election, and is currently the Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development and the Shadow Minister for Tourism. Mr Albanese has been a Member of Parliament since 1996, and believes strongly in the need for Government to invest in local communities. This includes Federal Government investment in public transport to address the issue of urban congestion. Following the election of the Federal Labor Government in November 2007, Mr Albanese became the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government and Leader of the House of Representatives. Mr Albanese was named Infrastructure Minister of the Year for 2012 by London-based publication Infrastructure Investor, and in 2010 he was named Aviation Minister of the Year for producing Australia’s first ever Aviation White Paper. In June 2013, he became Deputy Prime Minister, and also took on additional responsibility as Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy.
Revitalising Darwin
Revitalising Darwin’s CBD is a major focus of infrastructure development in the Northern Territory; the Northern Territory Government is committed to investing $100 million in projects that will revitalise and activate the capital of Northern Australia.
Cavenagh Street shade structure – Construction
Two elements of the latest plans say much about the distinctive demands on infrastructure in the region. One is the recognition of Aboriginal heritage. Barneson Boulevard, which is being developed at a cost of $45 million, has been renamed to the Larrakia name Garramilla Boulevard, to elevate Aboriginal identity, language and history.
A second distinct challenge is the management of heat in the tropical city.
Cavenagh Street – one of the main connection roads in Darwin’s CBD – has been identified as one of the hottest locations in the city. It is to be given a 55-metre cool, green canopy in an effort to mitigate heat, provide shading, and attract more tourists and locals to the city.
General Manager of Infrastructure, Investment and Contracts for the Northern Territory Government Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics John Harrison says that Cavenagh Street is often referred to affectionately as ‘the river of fire’. ‘What we are doing along a 55-metre section of the hottest stretch is building an innovative pergola-style design.’
Harrison says that the innovative structure is a combination of steel and timber to support the growth of green vine plants.
‘Obviously, within our tropical environment, it is hard to grow vinelike vegetation over steel structures because of the high temperatures. So we are cladding the structure with Arnhem Land–sourced stringybark timber, which is one of the strongest hardwoods available in Australia. This will lead to great Aboriginal employment outcomes in Arnhem Land, as well as on the ground through delivery of the $2.7-million project.
‘The designed structure will be a lattice-type construction over the top of the steel framework. The timber lattice itself will be quite an impressive structure to look at, but over time the vines will develop and provide additional shade to the street. That will see a considerable drop in temperature for certain times of the year; effectively, it will extend the comfortable period of our dry season.
‘We are also looking at installing some reflective treatments to the road service on Cavenagh Street in order to
reflect the heat – but not to do so in a way that creates uncomfortable glare.
‘We are working closely with the City of Darwin and local businesses to upgrade laneways and arcades throughout the CBD to support more pedestrian activity in the city,’ Harrison says. ‘We hope some activity will grow organically in the laneways: little boutique coffee shops, cafes and popup shops and eateries. We are already starting to see some tropical night markets and special events happening in the laneways.’
Another CBD revitalisation initiative is the construction of the $19.4-million State Square underground car park. ‘We are revisiting the master plan for the State Square precinct and removing the bitumen car parking,’ says Harrison. ‘There is quite a number of car parks in the precinct that are utilised by government and the private sector within Parliament, the Supreme Court and a number of other surrounding buildings.
‘We are in the process of constructing an underground car park that will be landscaped above ground, so that it will appear as a park on the surface, but there will be car parking underneath,’ says Harrison.
The initiative will provide 150 additional car spaces and also include end-of-trip facilities to support active modes of transport into the city.
Garramilla Boulevard
General Manager of Transport and Civil Services for the Northern Territory Government Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics Louise McCormick says that Garramilla Boulevard will become an iconic third arterial entry into the Darwin CBD. Construction, she says, began last May. ‘This project has been in planning since 1996 as a third arterial entry into the Darwin CBD,’ says McCormick. ‘From a traffic perspective, the CBD is actually sitting
Barneson
Cavenagh Street shade structure – Concept
Barneson – concept
Barneson – concept
on a peninsula, and there are currently only two key arterial links.
‘Garramilla was always planned as a third link. Within the last couple of years, we have undertaken network-wide traffic modelling, and this modelling identified that Darwin needed a third entry point into the CBD, simply because of the amount of traffic that was travelling into the city. So, we are building that entry point now. It will take you into the geographical centre of the peninsula, so that we also have the opportunity to make an entry statement.’
McCormick says the construction of the road is ‘not particularly challenging’ from a technical perspective, but there are some urban design elements. ‘We are looking at art pieces to be part of that streetscape. There is a heritage-listed park right next to it called Frog Hollow Park. An outdoor amphitheatre will be constructed into the road embankment to accommodate outdoor performances during certain times of the year, such as the Darwin Festival.’ The boulevard is designed to incorporate extensive landscaping and dedicated spaces to pedestrians and cyclists. Wide, shady tree canopies will be planted along the route, dispersing a cooling effect as you make your way into the city. The project is due for completion in 2020.
Planning for a vibrant future
Senior Director of Planning for the Northern Territory Government Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Logistics Douglas Lesh says that the Greater Darwin Regional Land Use Plan ‘sets out a horizon for a quarter of a million people’.
‘Rather than saying what it should be in 20 years, 50 years or 100 years, it is based on the current population, so that we can respond to land release on a needs basis,’ says Lesh. The government recently released its Planning for a Vibrant Future document, which takes this one step further and presents a vision for the Darwin CBD and the Darwin region as a whole. ‘It makes that important connection between infrastructure provision and how places develop.
‘The vision document supports infill development first and foremost, working sequentially outwards and utilising existing infrastructure where possible, then investing in infrastructure as we roll outwards.
‘With a population of 250,000, obviously if you sprawl out across the Darwin region, it will be very different than if you focus development on existing infill activity centres. The idea is that you get that vibrancy in the urban areas and you keep the rural areas rural.’
Lesh says that the Northern Territory Planning Commission is completing a Central Darwin Area Plan, which will set out a framework for the CBD and surrounding areas, including: Larrakeyah, Cullen Bay, Frances Bay, the old tank farm site, the Darwin Waterfront and the formal core of the CBD.
Lesh says that it is really a tool for the development authority to make decisions on development applications. ‘It will really integrate well with all the work that is being done on the greening and the activation of the CBD.’ ♦
Invested in infrastructure that creates a prosperous Queensland
Earlier this year, Queensland’s population surpassed five million people, and by 2041 it’s predicted to grow by an additional two million. To ensure prosperous communities and the ongoing creation of local jobs, infrastructure investment is needed to support this population growth.
Interchange works on the Bruce Highway at Caloundra Road and Steve Irwin Way
Developing robust and visionary infrastructure is one of the most critical functions of government. Infrastructure facilitates the movement of people in our cities and towns, and it better connects Queensland by expanding export markets and helping to generate more tourism dollars.
The Queensland Government outlines its infrastructure investment strategy in the State Infrastructure Plan (SIP), which is improving the way that infrastructure is planned and coordinated across the state.
The SIP has two parts: Part A Strategy, which is updated every five years (the next due by 2021), and the Part B Program, which is updated annually (most recently in July) and details what is being planned alongside the delivery program for the next four years.
These infrastructure investments will support jobs, economic growth and regional development. This clear pipeline provides industry stakeholders with transparency about investments, assists with workforce planning, and provides confidence about long-term job security across Queensland.
Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning Cameron Dick says that
Artist’s impression of the $1.1-billion Herston Quarter Precinct
industry stakeholders are showing their support for the new approach.
‘Our government has worked hard to ensure that there is a solid pipeline of infrastructure proposals for businesses to invest in,’ he says.
‘We’re continuing to improve our approach to infrastructure planning, and by placing a greater focus on what customers want and how people will use infrastructure, we can guide our development to meet those needs and demands.
When it comes to numbers, the 2018 SIP Part B update outlines Queensland’s infrastructure investment of $45.8 billion over the next four years. In 2018–2019, an $11.6-billion capital program will be delivered, which includes $3 billion for social infrastructure and $8.6 billion for economic infrastructure.
Minister Dick explained the different infrastructure needs for Queensland’s coastal, rural and remote areas, and the south-east corner.
‘For our coastal areas, it’s about keeping communities connected, facilitating access to export markets, and improving resilience to natural disasters,’ he says.
‘For our rural, remote and Indigenous communities, infrastructure is needed to maintain livability and community spirit, and ensure that our agricultural and resource sectors can quickly and safely ship goods to market.
‘Meanwhile, the south-east corner needs infrastructure that will keep pace with a fast-growing population. That is one of the key focuses for the rapidly expanding region.
‘And right now, there is a lot of effort being put in about how we can best connect the different parts of South East Queensland to accommodate that growth.’
One such infrastructure initiative is the $5.4-billion Cross River Rail project, which is designed to unlock a bottleneck in the transport network, and to double capacity across the river from the south-east into the CBD.
This transformational project will unlock capacity in the system so that up to 40 additional services (around 18,000 passenger seats) can be provided during morning peak period, with 47,000 commuters projected to shift from car travel to train travel.
Another project is the $1.1-billion upgrade of Gateway Motorway North to increase the road to six lanes.
‘Both projects will contribute to moving people and freight quickly,
while supporting growth and enhancing livability,’ he says.
Queensland’s Coordinator-General has also announced several projects that will support economic development across Queensland, including the $1-billion Gladstone Energy and Ammonia Project, the $120-million upgrade to the Port of Cairns, and the $583-million redevelopment of Lindeman Island.
In Brisbane, construction of the Queen’s Wharf integrated resort development is well underway, which will deliver a $1.69-billion annual increase in tourism spend and 8000 operational jobs once complete.
Other key urban renewal projects include the $1.1-billion Herston Quarter development in Northshore Hamilton – the largest waterfront renewal project in Queensland – and the Carseldine Urban Village Development, where upgraded sporting facilities will be open for the public in early 2019.
Looking ahead, Minister Dick believes that technological change is altering the thinking in many areas of infrastructure.
‘And what that means is we’ve got to reimagine the role of government in all of this,’ he says.
‘We want to look at how we can be more innovative in the way we approach our existing assets, as well as how we look at building new infrastructure.
‘There are interesting technologies coming through that can change the way we futureproof new builds, and better track and understand how infrastructure is performing – such as putting sensors in concrete and monitoring performance.
‘Improving the resilience and capability of large infrastructure assets is vital – as is reducing their maintenance costs in both the short and long term.’
Another element in Queensland’s infrastructure planning is to support
Logan Hospital redevelopment will increase capacity by 192 beds to a total of 640 beds and expand the maternity ward
emerging industries and the diversification of the economy.
The Queensland Government has targeted a number of emerging industries – such as manufacturing, aerospace, defence industries and bio-futures – that all have different infrastructure requirements.
‘We are planning now to ensure that the infrastructure needed to support these emerging industries is in place at the right time,’ he says.
‘The Queensland Government is facilitating a discussion about what infrastructure problems need to be addressed, but not jumping to the solution until we are closer to the time the community needs it. This is why the State Infrastructure Plan Part B includes future opportunities.’
Economic Development Queensland is also progressing opportunities in partnership with councils. For example, the Mackay Waterfront Priority Development Area declaration will enable Mackay Regional Council to pursue its plan to transform the city’s waterfronts and CBD.
‘This declaration will be a catalyst to stimulate the region, create jobs, increase investor confidence, and deliver more community infrastructure and public facilities,’ he says.
‘Investment in infrastructure helps strengthen our economy, and provides lasting benefits – creating prosperous communities, local jobs and a more livable Queensland for everyone.’ ♦
