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

I rise to endorse the comments of the Chair of the Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities, the member for Bennelong. As the chair of the previous committee, which initiated this inquiry, I rise to speak in support of the report. Indeed, I note that, when the committee was restructured last year, some members, including me, were concerned about the future of this inquiry. I wish to thank the committee chairman for adopting and completing the inquiry and for allowing me to remain involved until my recent change of role.

The inquiry into the role of smart ICT in the design and planning of infrastructure was in fact precipitated by an earlier inquiry of the committee into planning, procurement and funding for Australia's future infrastructure. While the decision to adopt this inquiry was initially met with resistance by some, it was greatly assisted by the strong advocacy and support given by the member for Forrest and the member for Hinkler. I take this opportunity to record my appreciation for their determination. Although the inquiry had originally set out with the limited scope of examining new technologies in the development of infrastructure, the unprecedented interest that it received from within industry and government resulted in it accepting a wide range of submissions and examples of smart technology. At the time of drafting this report, the inquiry had received 49 submissions and the committee had conducted eight public hearings.

The inquiry into the role of smart ICT set out to inquire and report upon the role of smart ICT in the design and planning of infrastructure. In particular, the inquiry focused on the identification of innovative technologies for the mapping, modelling, design and operation of infrastructure; the productivity benefits of smart ICT; the harmonisation of data formats; nationally consistent arrangements for data access and storage; the identification of international best practice in the use of smart ICT; the use of smart ICT in disaster planning and recovery; and, finally, the consideration of ways in which governments can promote the use of smart ICT to boost economic growth and productivity.

It is that final point I wish to emphasise: economic growth and productivity. Every year, literally hundreds of papers are tabled in this chamber, with most ranging from the mundane to the inconsequential. This report is not one of those. In fact, I would venture to say that this report will be one of the most important to be tabled in the life of the 44th Parliament. This report is, after all, about the future of Australia, the future of Australia's infrastructure, the future of Australia's productivity and the future of Australia's economy. The report is a road map for the future of infrastructure delivery and utilisation in Australia and, through its 10 recommendations, sets out a detailed and evidence based approach to the transformation of infrastructure design and planning in Australia through the use of smart ICT.

The emergence of smart ICT in the delivery of infrastructure is one of the most tangible representations of Australia's burgeoning ideas boom, and the gains that it will bring to Australia's productivity will be, without exaggeration, immense. Consider for a moment some of the evidence submitted by witnesses to the inquiry with respect to the productivity gains brought about by the use of smart ICT in infrastructure. Urban Circus, which recently ran a workshop with Main Roads in Western Australia, spoke about the significant savings in cost and time made through the use of building information modelling, known as BIM, and geospatial information and how the optioneering phases for particular Main Roads projects were taking up to a year because each time an alternative route was considered there was an additional cost of $100,000 and a one-month delay while new surveys were conducted. Through the use of BIM and geospatial information, all alternative routes were able to be considered in one meeting, saving the department literally hundreds of thousands of dollars in survey costs and bringing projects forward by months.

Aurecon also spoke about how BIM reduces lead times for major capital infrastructure projects. BCE Surveying spoke about the integration of BIM with mobile laser scanning, or MLS, and how, through the use of MLS, the time taken to survey a one-square-kilometre site is reduced from 16 hours to just two. In addition to the financial savings, the use of MLS surveying reduces disruption to road users, and environmentally sensitive areas are left undisturbed. Geoscience Australia noted UK savings of 840 million pounds in the 2013-14 year just from the use of BIM technology in the delivery of infrastructure. The Queensland University of Technology, AECOM, the Spatial Industries Business Association and Geoscience Australia all estimated typical cost savings of between 15 to 20 per cent of total project costs through the use of BIM. Imagine what it would mean for Australia, for our cities and for our regions if the government were able to extend the performance of its infrastructure spending by 20 per cent. The economic impact would be enormous and the possibilities are endless.

These are just some of the examples of the transformative effect that smart ICT will have on the delivery of infrastructure in Australia and, indeed, on the Australian economy as a whole. But the smart ICT integration will only happen through leadership, and without leadership in this space the productivity gains being experienced in other economies around the world will not be achieved here in Australia. What this inquiry and, indeed, the report set out to do was map the use of smart ICT in the delivery of infrastructure at the present time and set out a blueprint for the further expansion of smart ICT through political leadership.

The report makes 10 recommendations to the government, and I will touch briefly on some important points. First and foremost, the committee has recommended that the Australian government lead the formation of a smart infrastructure task force led by Infrastructure Australia and modelled on the very successful UK BIM Task Group. The task force would be charged with responsibility for coordinating and implementing smart ICT in the design, planning and development of infrastructure and the maintenance and optimisation of existing infrastructure. The task force would also be responsible for developing a national strategy to accelerate the adoption of smart ICT and engage Australia with international experience and best practice.

The task force would be responsible for the development of national protocols for the collection, management and release of infrastructure related data, including the sale of data. The committee has nominated the National Archives of Australia as the most appropriate body to oversee the development of a whole-of-government strategy for the collection, management, storage and security of data. The National Archives already leads the world in digitisation of records so already has the infrastructure in place to handle the storage of this material as well as existing security protocols for appropriate access and use.

The committee has also recommended that the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, the Department of Communications and the Arts, and Geoscience Australia continue to build smart ICT capacity in partnership with industry and that the Australian government, through COAG, work with state and territory governments to develop a national approach to the application of smart ICT. In the area of infrastructure procurement and prioritisation, the committee has recommended that the Australian government mandate the use of BIM for all infrastructure projects in receipt of Commonwealth funding where the total project cost exceeds $50 million.

The committee has also recommended that the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development adopt the practice of examining whether the use of smart ICT in optimising the operation and maintenance of existing infrastructure assets can provide a more cost-effective solution than their physical replacement or upgrade. The committee received evidence throughout the inquiry that, in many cases, particularly with respect to transport infrastructure, optimisation of the existing asset through the use of smart ICT can provide the same desired effect, such as easing traffic congestion, at a fraction of the cost of the replacement or upgrade of the asset. The committee has also recommended that the Australian government invite Infrastructure Australia to consider the use of smart ICT in infrastructure as a means of identifying savings.

These recommendations provide the Australian government with a blueprint for the full implementation of smart ICT in the delivery of infrastructure. The 10 recommendations—if they are accepted by the Australian government—will deliver unprecedented gains in productivity and change the way we think about infrastructure. The economic imperative of embracing smart ICT in the design and planning of infrastructure cannot be overstated. Failure to act now will cost our economy billions of dollars in lost productivity and it will cost the government—indeed, the Australian taxpayer—billions of dollars in wasted infrastructure spending.

I strongly encourage the government to accept in full the committee's recommendations. I commend this report to the House.

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