A WORD FROM INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA
REMAKING A RESILIENT ECONOMY by Romilly Madew AO, CEO, Infrastructure Australia
The year 2020 has produced a roll call of calamities that have tested the resilience of all Australians: bushfires, drought, floods and an ongoing pandemic. Now, after 28 years, Australia is in a recession, with the unemployment rate up to 7.4 per cent and expected to climb. In these challenging times, infrastructure is uniquely placed to support jobs and drive productivity.
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September 2020 // Issue 16
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ne of our nation’s greatest infrastructure feats, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, was a product of the Great Depression, nicknamed the ‘Iron Lung’ as it sustained the lives of thousands of workers and their families. While history might be on our side, we must still recognise that the acceleration of infrastructure investment and reform is not without risk. In order to ensure sustained growth and true economic resilience for future generations, spending should be productivity-enhancing to enable a stronger growth trajectory than prior to the crisis.
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