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Queensland’s master plan: Bligh says new projects will dovetail with rebuilding priorities | by Tony Featherstone
By Tony Featherstone
In recent times, Queensland has seen a lot of cloud and not much silver lining. Huge demands on the state budget, a difficult but important asset sales program, and then – just as things appeared to get back on an even keel – Queensland’s south was devastated by floods, as the far north was hammered by Cyclone Yasi.
THIS PAge: Coal is Queensland’s largest export industry. rIgHT: Queensland’s infrastructure took a battering from Cyclone Yasi.
With the damage bill estimated to top $5.8 billion, questions are being raised about how reconstruction will affect the timing and status of other badly needed Queensland infrastructure projects, such as the Cross River Rail, the Eastern Busway, upgrades to the Pacific, Bruce and Warrego highways, and the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing.
And, just as importantly, how will these projects be funded in light of an already staggering reconstruction bill?
In this interview with Future Building’s Tony Featherstone, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh remains optimistic about the future of infrastructure development – but realistic about the challenges.
Following is an edited transcript of the Queensland Premier’s interview.
Queensland’s master plan: Bligh says new projects will dovetail with rebuilding priorities
Future Building: Premier, how badly was Queensland infrastructure damaged after the floods and Cyclone Yasi? What were the main infrastructure assets damaged?
Premier Bligh: When 99 per cent of your state is disaster-declared, the damage is going to be extensive. From Brisbane to Cairns and all points west, we have sustained serious damage to roads, bridges and rail, as well as the infrastructure that is at the heart of all communities – schools, parks, walkways and community halls.
In all, the floods and cyclones wiped out 9170 kilometres of the state-owned road network; about 4750 kilometres of rail network was damaged; 387 schools were damaged to some extent; and about 90 state-owned bridges and culverts were washed away.
Future Building: How are the state’s infrastructure rebuilding efforts progressing? Which assets still need more repair than others, and how long will it all take?
Premier Bligh: We have got on with the job with remarkable speed. By early April – 100 days after the first flooding event – more than 6800 kilometres of roads had been repaired. More than 4200 kilometres of flood-affected rail was back on line, including the Western Rail Line, which was re-opened three months ahead of schedule.
Only one damaged school is still closed and 55 of the 90 washed-away bridges are back in operation [at time of press]. That’s been a gargantuan effort from our work crews. But there is still a long way to go until we are completely rebuilt, and rebuilt stronger.
Future Building: Your government has allocated several hundred million dollars to local councils to begin rebuilding. How important is this initiative, and what is your assessment of how local councils have begun their infrastructure repair programs?
Premier Bligh: More than $400 million has now gone out the door to councils the length and breadth of the state, and it has been allocated at record speed. This is joint federal and state money and it has been possible to distribute it so quickly because the Queensland Reconstruction Authority has allocated funding using a new process that cuts red tape and speeds up payments. That’s a Queensland first.
It means those communities can start rebuilding immediately, rather than go through lengthy application processes. That’s a big relief for councils because they are facing a damage bill that will ultimately top $2 billion, and the quicker they can get on with the job, the quicker they can return some normalcy to their regions.
Queensland’s master plan: Bligh says new projects will dovetail with rebuilding priorities
rIgHT: Queensland’s Coal Mining industry will receive attention via CoalPlan 2030.
Future Building: Will the rebuilding efforts see new infrastructure priorities in Queensland downgraded, or other new projects delayed or shelved?
Premier Bligh: The Queensland Reconstruction Authority has been working with state, Commonwealth and local authorities, and industry, to plan and prioritise the $5.8 billion reconstruction effort.
The authority, through its Operation Queenslander roadmap, will provide the short-term infrastructure investment priorities for government, with long-term infrastructure investment priorities still outlined in planning documents, such as the proposed Queensland Infrastructure Plan (QIP).
Future Building: What impact is the mining boom in regional Queensland having on infrastructure needs? I understand some regional towns, such as Mackay and Rockhampton, desperately need better infrastructure to cope with an influx of mining workers. What are your government’s priorities for regional infrastructure development?
Premier Bligh: A social impact assessment is required for all declared significant projects. This process assists decision-making on the extent of new or expanded infrastructure required in regional towns and cities to meet demand generated by major resource developments. Through these assessments, government and proponents are able to collect and analyse information about the social and cultural issues, population change, and community and social relationships that are likely to occur as a result of a project. This also allows government and business to develop strategies for mitigation, management, monitoring and review.
Queensland’s master plan: Bligh says new projects will dovetail with rebuilding priorities
In addition, in 2010 the Queensland Government released CoalPlan 2030, which proactively anticipates the infrastructure needs that will be driven by the mining boom in regional Queensland.
CoalPlan 2030 examines the potential growth path for the Queensland coal industry over the next two decades and details expected infrastructure requirements to support the continued growth of what is Queensland’s largest export industry.
Future Building: How is the state’s vital coal rail and port infrastructure faring after all the flooding in Central Queensland?
Premier Bligh: Heavy rains and unprecedented floods during December impacted the coal industry’s January and February production and export levels. This was due in most part to major flooding of a number of mines, and the closure of the Blackwater and Moura rail systems for four and three weeks respectively.
Although coal exports during December were largely unaffected, January exports dropped by 36.5 per cent and February exports by 11.6 per cent. March brought a strong rebound in exports of 40 per cent over February tonnages. Queensland’s coal export throughput is expected to return to preflood levels soon.
All coal rail networks, including Goonyella, Newlands, Blackwater, Moura and Western, are now open, and QR National and Pacific National both have 100 per cent rolling stock capacity availability, which is currently well in excess of demand.
All five coal export ports and six coal terminals are operating with 100 per cent capacity available. All major roads and airports servicing the coalfields have re-opened.
Queensland’s master plan: Bligh says new projects will dovetail with rebuilding priorities
Future Building: Premier, what are your key priorities for the long-term development of Queensland infrastructure? What are the key transport infrastructure initiatives?
Premier Bligh: The government reviews key infrastructure development priorities on an ongoing basis as part of our long-term planning processes. For the first time in Queensland, these priorities will now be reflected in the one document, the QIP, due later this year.
QIP will become the key tool, closely aligned with the proposed Queensland Regionalisation Strategy (QRS). Key long-term priorities in QIP will include managing growth while preserving the environment and the liveability for which our state is famous.
Future Building: What are the state’s biggest infrastructure bottlenecks, in your view, and how do you plan to address them?
Premier Bligh: Current preparation of QRS and QIP involves identifying priority infrastructure needs, including bottlenecks and deficiencies.
This is being reassessed in light of the natural disasters. The release of QRS and QIP later this year will map out the Queensland Government’s strategy for addressing the state’s infrastructure needs and priorities.
Future Building: Is the Federal Government doing enough to support the development of Queensland infrastructure, in your view?
Premier Bligh: The establishment of Infrastructure Australia in 2008 and the Building Australia Fund signalled a significant and welcome change in the Commonwealth’s involvement in infrastructure funding and facilitation.
Building Australia funding was put towards the Gold Coast Rapid Transit project, sections of the Ipswich Motorway and sections of the Bruce Highway between Cooroy and Curra. Funding was also provided for the Cross River Rail feasibility study. Infrastructure Australia’s role in identifying strategic infrastructure bottlenecks and helping unlock them is important to Queensland in the resources boom, as is Federal Government funding towards infrastructure. Obviously, Queensland would welcome further funding assistance from the Federal Government and has put forward a number of projects for consideration. These include the Cross River Rail project, the Eastern Busway, upgrades to the Pacific, Bruce and Warrego highways, and the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing. Also put forward for funding consideration were the Abbot Point Coal Terminal [near Bowen] and the CopperString Mount Isa to Townsville electricity line.
Future Building: Is COAG doing enough to get the states to work together on infrastructure development? Is there enough state cooperation on infrastructure development, in your view? Premier Bligh: The states actively work together on an ongoing basis through the COAG Infrastructure Working Group to identify key areas that could benefit from mutual cooperation between the jurisdictions.
Recent examples of outcomes achieved through this process, all of which reduce cost for industry and encourage participation across jurisdictions, include the National Prequalification Scheme for non-residential building and civil road and bridges construction contracts.
The National Licensing Scheme, which harmonises licensing requirements for economically important trades, particularly in the construction industry, was also an important consideration.
Of course, the agreement to a new National Public Private Partnership Policy and Guidelines was a good outcome for industry and governments. Queensland will continue to collaborate with our interstate colleagues and industry to identify further opportunities for cooperation and reform that will help facilitate infrastructure development and delivery.
Tony Featherstone is a former managing editor of BRW magazine.
Wonthaggi desalination plant: Welding of pipe sections leading 84 km to Melbourne
FUNDING FUTUrE INFrASTrUcTUrE
Australia faces an exciting period of growth and transition. Demand for our energy resources is booming, not only from growing Asian economies but here at home. We are renewing our schools and hospitals, and making our cities more sustainable as we transition to lower carbon economy.
Our goals are ambitious and never before has the role of the private sector been so important.
Westpac Institutional Bank is determined to take a leading role in these changes. While global capital markets have been shaken in recent years, Westpac has the scale, skills and depth to match the right financing to the job. Global capital markets may have changed but it doesn’t mean we need to scale back our goals.
As federal and state governments safeguard balance sheets we expect Australian policymakers to build on our country’s robust track record of private investment in infrastructure through private investment and public private partnerships. That’s because the scale of the work ahead is huge and government can’t do it alone.
Australia will need about $420 billion of new investment in energy and associated infrastructure to meet growing demand at home and abroad. The federal government requires 20 per cent of electricity to be derived from renewable resource by 2020. The bill will likely include about $140 billion of investment in the electricity sector and $8 billion in gas pipelines.
Even if equity backs 40 per cent of the bill, that still leaves about $250 billion which will need to be raised through debt markets. For Westpac, that means working closely with our customers to provide them with an understanding that can form the basis of a competitive business opportunity - whether it involves a wind farm in South Australia or a gas pipeline in southern Queensland.
Westpac Institutional Bank has over 3000 people with a global footprint spanning Asia, the UK, the US and New Zealand. Our expertise has helped launch some of the country’s most important infrastructure projects such as arranging and underwriting finance for Victoria’s $3.6 billion desalination plant at Wonthaggi in November 2009.
But we need to build our partnership with government. For Australia to realise its infrastructure goals we need a clear pipeline of projects and a rebalancing of risk with government. That should assist in unlocking funding from Australia’s pool of superannuation.
We are thinking of the future; identifying the key players and the right capital solutions. We’re determined to take advantage of our knowledge in this market so we can continue to play a leadership role.
Mark John Managing Director Property, Government & Infrastructure Westpac Institutional Bank
Achieving SAfer infrAStructure
By Dr MichAel Shirley
infrastructure developers balance a range of considerations in meeting the world’s insatiable infrastructure needs. Among the drivers for this infrastructure is the emerging goal of safer infrastructure.
Many challenges present themselves in getting infrastructure right: determining funding and securing finance, embedding sustainability and innovation, ensuring flexibility to meet future needs and building adaptability to climate change. infrastructure development in its essence is improving service and amenity to communities - delivering a blend of economic, environmental and social benefits. As environmentally sensitive infrastructure has matured to become the norm, it is a community centric view of infrastructure development that is elevating safety.
Safer infrastructure thinking does not merely aspire to ensure that members of community or those involved in its development, construction and operations are unharmed by existence of the infrastructure. Progressive approaches are seeking to create infrastructure that anticipates safety risks and seeks to remove these at all design stages. transport is the obvious focus for safer infrastructure; however, recent climatic events in Australia and seismic events globally have highlighted that safe power and water infrastructure is equally crucial. for transport infrastructure such as road and rail, the focus is on minimising or removing occurrences of construction and operational fatalities and injuries. in the rail sector, we are seeing a focus on rail’s interface with roads. comprehensive grade separation is an obvious step that has safety and efficiency benefits for both sets of intersecting infrastructure. continuing developments in intelligent transport Systems (itS) enables smarter and safer rail signals and communications solutions including systems that assist drivers in detecting potential collisions and assertive systems that take automatic action. the biggest challenge and opportunity, however, is in achieving safer road infrastructure. in Australia, road authorities have placed major efforts on improved road safety to reduce fatalities and major injuries in the face of growing vehicle numbers and congestion.
Worldwide, the challenge to address road safety is staggering in scale and urgent in need. globally, 1.3 million people die every year as a result of a traffic collision. rapid population growth and increasing urbanisation and exploded levels of vehicle ownership in developing nations mean that these statistics are set to worsen significantly. the criticality of this issue has seen the united nations launch a Decade for Action for road Safety (2011-2020) that will deliver against a range of strategies to improve global road safety management, achieve safer infrastructure and vehicles, improve road user behaviour and provide better post crash care.
Achieving safer infrastructure is particularly urgent as middle and low income nations – who are most affected by road fatalities – reach critical stages in their economic development and begin rapidly increasing their infrastructure. in Australia, the transport infrastructure sector has a role to play – not just in addressing our own road safety challenges, but in driving innovation and transferring knowledge globally.
Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) is committed to this goal and we have already begun to realise the benefits of developing safer infrastructure, delivering projects with enhanced outcomes for our clients and our communities.
On a recent upgrade to the hume highway, one of Australia’s major highways and busiest road freight routes, the safety in design process ran successfully throughout the entire project. this approach seeks to provide a safe environment during the construction and operation of an infrastructure project, where the design needs to address road safety issues such as provision of adequate sight and stopping distances, layout of barriers, and an adequate level of lighting and so on. in this context of a rural freeway carrying large numbers of heavy vehicles, innovations included: • new intersection layout types designed for heavy truck traffic - providing a two-stage turning movement that allows the heavy vehicle to stop in the median of the highway and assess oncoming traffic. • Applying 3D visualisation techniques to assess safety need and impact of the position of earth mounds that remove the impact of headlight glare at night for opposing traffic on one carriageway of the highway and any realigned adjacent local roads. • Adjusting designs of sedimentation basins along the road corridor to address the risk of slipping and drowning. • flattening embankments alongside the carriageways to decrease potential truck roll overs.
SKM embraces the challenge of improving safety in our communities and we are excited about the role we can play in achieving great infrastructure outcomes.
Dr Michael Shirley is General Manager, Buildings and Infrastructure at leading engineering, sciences and project delivery firm Sinclair Knight Merz. Dr MIchael ShIrley
General Manager, Buildings & Infrastructure, SKM
