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Chairman’s Foreword | Adrian Kloeden Chairman, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia
Chairman’s Foreword
I am delighted to present this edition of Future Building – the proceedings of Partnerships 2017, Australia’s most prestigious annual gathering of infrastructure leaders.
On the one hand, this year’s programme spoke to the heavy political overlay impacting infrastructure projects and markets – with New South Wales Treasurer Dominic Perrottet’s opening address noting that ‘the road to hell is paved with government interventions’.
But the proceedings also spoke to countervailing positives, with a booming project market in New South Wales and Victoria, and with mounting demand for economic and social infrastructure across the country.
Our keynote addresses by Dr Kerry Schott AO (energy markets), John Pickhaver (capital markets) and Mark Birrell (national reform) each outlined challenges and opportunities ahead.
While our respected leaders, special purpose vehicles, transport technology and investment panels provided deep perspectives about our historical strengths, contemporary challenges and forward requirements.
Given the heavy national political overlay in infrastructure, I was particularly pleased that we were able to present the Federal Minister for Urban Infrastructure and his Opposition counterpart, Paul Fletcher and Anthony Albanese, respectively.
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia has an important role as the fearless and honest broker in infrastructure policy, which was reflected in Paul and Anthony’s agreement to address the topic ‘The things we agree on’, complete with real agreements – and delivered with genuine good humour.
I hope you find that the proceedings of Partnerships 2017 offer you new insights into Australia’s infrastructure challenges – and how they can each be addressed.
Yours faithfully,
Adrian Kloeden Chairman, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia
A strategy to secure the future
Securing our productivity and competitive edge is a major driver behind the Government’s $75-billion budget commitment in infrastructure funding over 10 years, which will support intermodals and upgrades to road and rail connections to our ports.
We are enhancing transport links, and are unlocking the potential of our cities and regions to ensure that we not only meet the growing domestic demand for goods and services, but that we also maintain our global competitiveness.
To progress the government’s vision, we are developing a National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy.
The strategy is being developed via an inquiry into National Freight and Supply Chain Priorities. The inquiry will set out what challenges and opportunities lie ahead, and describe how we can take advantage of them.
The inquiry team received more than 100 responses on the discussion paper to support the development of the strategy from across the freight network, including consumers, business owners, producers, farmers and freight operators.
These responses will help us to examine how our investment in the freight network can boost the nation’s prosperity and meet community expectations.
I expect to take the strategy to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Transport and Infrastructure Council next year, and I would like to acknowledge everyone who has provided input to the inquiry.
The Australian Government is also investing an additional $8.4 billion to build the signature Inland Rail route between Melbourne and Brisbane, with a public-private partnership to finance the complex Toowoomba-toBrisbane section.
There is no doubt that Inland Rail will transform Australia’s freight network and boost regional growth for generations to come.
At the beginning of September, the government called for companies to register their interest to be the first to construct a section of the Inland Rail route.
Submissions to build the 107-kilometre Parkes-to-Narromine section closed on 22 September.
When completed, the Inland Rail project will provide a high-performance 1700-kilometre freight rail corridor.
Inland Rail will have the capacity of 110 B-doubles, and will be capable of moving double-stacked containers. Many goods may not begin their journey at either end of the Inland Rail line, but rather in the middle – in regional Australia.
It is estimated that this project will transfer two million tonnes of agricultural freight from road to rail, significantly reducing the number of trucks on major regional supply routes, and improving road safety for heavy vehicles and other road users.
The decision to fund the construction of the Inland Rail will also give regional businesses the certainty needed to invest in export growth by tackling freight delivery costs head on, and realising opportunities that will be available for generations to come. ♦
