Infrastructure Australia has delivered a landmark report, with recommendations including the scrapping of registration fees and the fuel excise in favour of directly charging drivers for road use.
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15-year Australian Infrastructure Plan outlines 78 recommendations to the Federal Government in an effort to address existing and future infrastructure gaps.
Informed by the 2015 Australian Infrastructure Audit and related submissions, the report is accompanied by a list of 93 priority projects and initiatives.
Key investments recommended in the list include new metro rail systems in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, road and rail initiatives in Perth to ease urban congestion, public transport improvements in Adelaide and Canberra, urban renewal in Hobart and metropolitan water supply upgrades in Darwin.
The report recommends a public inquiry, led by the Productivity Commission or Infrastructure Australia, into the existing funding system for roads and the development of a user-pays model for motorists. It says all drivers should be charged for using roads within 10 years, while fees for those in heavy vehicles should be introduced within five years.
It suggests such a model would reduce congestion and help fund major projects.
"The existing approach to charging for road use is not well understood by users," the report says. "Many users see roads as free, or at least free at the point of use. Fuel excise is charged at the fuel pump, but is not disaggregated from the per-litre cost, nor displayed on the fuel docket in the same way as the GST.
"Together, these factors further the misconception that roads are free and create public perceptions that reform is about new taxes rather than fixing the current flawed charging system."
Additional recommendations include completing the national electricity market, improving the quality and competitiveness of the water sector and delivering a telecommunications market that responds to user demand.
In a statement, Infrastructure Australia Chairman Mark Birrell claims that, if acted upon, the raft of recommendations could boost the economy by an estimated $40 billion and see the average Australian household about $3000 better off each year by 2040.
“By completing the major reforms to infrastructure markets the average Australian household will be almost $3000 better off every year,” he says.
IPWEA CEO Robert Fuller, who met with Infrastructure Australia CEO Philip Davies in 2015 to discuss the Audit, says he welcomes the release of the plan.
“The current government has signalled its intentions to make innovation a priority, and IPWEA members see well-planned, well-managed infrastructure as an integral part of that vision,” Fuller says.
“When I spoke with Mr Davies last year, he indicated that the Australian Infrastructure Plan would help provide a clear, strategic path forward for Australia’s future infrastructure investments.
“While a number of recommendations will require further investigation, this plan as a whole is a step in the right direction for a rapidly-growing nation that has been gravely in need of guidance in this area.
“Hopefully, these recommendations will now inform a serious, forward-thinking discussion about what policies and investments will deliver the most economically-vibrant, liveable and innovative Australia.”
Australian Local Government Association President, Mayor Troy Pickard, applauded the Plan’s recommendations around greater levels of investment in freight infrastructure funding to address both the challenges and opportunities in first and last mile regional roads projects.
"Local roads are an essential component of the national road network and, in aggregate, make a significant contribution to state and national productivity,” Pickard says. “They are the building blocks providing access to and from our front gates to local, regional, state, national and international services and markets.
"ALGA strongly supports the report's focus on improvements in productivity through investment in infrastructure and we have argued that, in its May budget, the Government should commit to a program directed at regional road projects, funded at $200 million per annum for five years, to ensure that freight connectivity issues and first and last mile issues are addressed to improve national productivity.”
"We must unlock local and regional productivity improvements through investment that improves access for freight vehicles and connectivity between local roads and preferred state and national freight routes."
Key report findings and the concept of a national infrastructure strategy to alleviate Australia’s infrastructure challenges will be addressed in IPWEA Australasia's latest initiative, the IPWEA National Leadership Series to be held in Melbourne (25 May), Brisbane (26 May), Perth (31 May) and Sydney (21 June). Renowned industry asset management expert Jeff Roorda will talk about the role of robust decision support systems to underpin a national infrastructure strategy. The series is proudly sponsored by TechnologyOne - put these dates in your diary.