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

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications I present the committee's report, incorporating a dissenting report, entitled Planning, procurement and funding for Australia's future infrastructure—report on the inquiry into infrastructure planning and procurement, together with the minutes of proceedings, and I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.

Leave granted.

On behalf of the Standing Committee on Infrastructure and Communications, I have the pleasure of presenting the committee's report on the inquiry into infrastructure planning and procurement.

The delivery of infrastructure to support a growing and demographically diverse population will drive productivity and improve living standards for all Australians. In assuring all stakeholders—the community, governments and business—that the nation's future infrastructure needs can be met, it is incumbent upon all governments to ensure appropriate planning and procurement processes are developed and instituted. These should be complemented by value for money funding and finance mechanisms.

The committee was tasked with reviewing the Australian government's response, in an infrastructure sense, to a variety of factors, including demographic change, increasing fuel costs and housing affordability. The committee has heard some compelling evidence to suggest changes in the way the government addresses infrastructure planning and funding.

The inquiry into planning and procurement received many submissions from a wide range of interested parties: from government departments to peak industry bodies and advocacy groups. Many of these appeared as witnesses at the 12 public hearings overseen by the committee, and on behalf of the committee I wish to thank them for their time and expertise.

The committee's report examined the planning of infrastructure, recommending that improved coordination and harmonisation of Commonwealth, state and territory-based processes be undertaken. The way our Federation is framed can lead to duplication of services and this leads to duplication of process, which is costly in both time and money.

The committee is mindful of the constitutional arrangements in our country, but also believes greater effort in reducing duplication is needed. The committee emphasised the importance of identifying a long term pipeline of infrastructure projects to provide certainty for stakeholders regarding future planning. In developing this pipeline, the committee notes a recently announced expansion of Infrastructure Australia's functions. The committee further recommended that, where required, relevant land corridors be identified and preserved to meet future infrastructure needs.

There are significant opportunities to encourage investment in infrastructure through various models. However, numerous submissions indicated there is limited technical capacity within Commonwealth departments, causing substantial increases in cost and risk to both taxpayers and investors.

The committee recommended that the Australian government develop innovative financing and funding models for the development of public infrastructure, providing flexibility and the ability to respond to associated costs and inherent risks. In particular, closer consideration should be given to options, including forward tax incentives, user charging, inverted bidding, infrastructure bonds and capital recycling.

The committee also made recommendations for procurement reform. It called upon the Australian government to consider innovative procurement practices, including promoting the use of Building Information Modelling, BIM, and co-funding the design or purchase of intellectual property rights, particularly where they form part of an innovative infrastructure tender proposal. The recommendation also called for the streamlining and centralising of elements of the tender process and the debundling of project elements to allow greater competition between industry participants.

The committee also made some recommendations aimed at Infrastructure Australia's involvement in the infrastructure procurement process, including improving their technical capability and the appointment of a chief engineer. Having the technical capacity to determine the most appropriate infrastructure design, construction and procurement model on a case-by-case basis was considered critical when dealing with large projects. It was recommended that a methodology be developed and applied to evaluate the wider economic benefits of infrastructure projects receiving Commonwealth funding of over $100 million. It was further recommended that the role of Infrastructure Australia as a specialist procurement agency be enhanced, allowing the provision of policy advice and support to government agencies undertaking infrastructure procurement.

The committee was mindful of the recently released Productivity Commission report entitled Public Infrastructure and was careful not to duplicate the commission's findings but rather identify ways those findings could be expanded upon or enhanced. An outline of the commission's findings appears on pages 2 and 3 of this report, and I recommend that they be read in conjunction with this report.

Finally, I would like to thank the individuals and organisations who made contributions to the inquiry both through submissions and through appearances at public hearings. The committee has made 10 recommendations we feel will progress the planning and procurement crucial for the infrastructure of Australia. As chairman, I wish to acknowledge members of the committee who brought their varied experience to bear during an inquiry that covered a number of complex matters. It is clear that there is a need for significant structural change to current processes in the planning, procurement and funding of infrastructure in Australia, and it is hoped that the recommendations of this committee contribute to further reform in this area.

On behalf of the committee I also wish to thank the committee secretariat for their hard work in supporting the committee during this Inquiry.

On behalf of the committee I commend the report to the House.

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