Jane Prentice (Ryan, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said at the last election that he was determined to be an infrastructure Prime Minister committed to building the infrastructure of the 21st century to ensure Australia can meet future transport challenges. In the 2014-15 budget, the coalition government laid out a historic $50 billion for the Infrastructure Investment Program to deliver vital transport infrastructure across our cities, regional centres and rural communities. I commend the coalition's policy to (1) target investment in productive infrastructure, (2) complete projects faster, (3) partner with state governments, and (4) leverage more private sector investment.

As the Chairman of the House Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications, I take this opportunity to touch on some of the key findings from the current inquiry into infrastructure planning and procurement. Long-term planning is absolutely essential to ensure that Australia identifies and protects the land required for the infrastructure that we will all need in order to meet the increasing demand on our transport systems that results from a growing population and a growing freight task.

It is important to recognise that our infrastructure needs cannot be met by a single government or indeed by a single tier of government. Collaborating across all tiers of government is essential. Significant progress has been made in these areas; however, witnesses who appeared before the committee believe that there is still more to be done. It is important to recognise that improved planning can provide significant material benefits to governments, to the economy and, particularly, to the communities that are served by the infrastructure—including by providing some certainty for the private sector for their planning purposes and to make investment decisions, by providing opportunities to minimise the lifetime costs of projects, by providing maximum flexibility for the programming and scheduling of outlays, by minimising integrated transport and land use options and making urban development more competitive, and, importantly, by providing needed infrastructure on which the community relies.

Conventionally, state and territory governments have lead responsibility for infrastructure and land use planning, and they are supported in this role by local governments. However, witnesses have said that they see the federal government as having a particular interest and responsibility where these activities intersect with national interest. Australia's future productivity growth will depend to a large degree on our capacity to improve existing infrastructure and to develop new infrastructure which creates an integrated transport network across Australia. The committee recognises that this is an increasingly competitive task. Commonwealth, state, and territory interests intersect in a number of areas, such as inland freight rail, airports and ports.

Debate interrupted.

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