Warren Truss (Wide Bay, National Party, Leader of the Nationals) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Australian government is committed to building the infrastructure of the 21st century and to ensuring this nation has the productive infrastructure it needs to meet the challenges ahead.

The 2014-15 budget laid out a historic $50 billion infrastructure plan to deliver vital transport infrastructure right across our cities, regional centres and rural communities. This commitment is part of the government's economic action strategy to build a strong, prosperous economy, boost productivity and create thousands of new jobs.

Building better road and rail infrastructure will make it easier for freight to move around our cities and to our rural and regional centres. Infrastructure investment helps cut fuel costs and reduces travel times so we can spend more time in productive activities or with our loved ones.

The government is not just getting on with infrastructure delivery; we are also determined to reform the way decisions are made to prioritise new infrastructure projects. Therefore we are acting to reform.

The government's election commitment was for a strong independent, transparent and expert advisory body able to forge productive relationships with industry, states and territories to deliver quality independent advice on infrastructure proposals.

We have delivered on that promise and on 1 September the new governance arrangements for Infrastructure Australia officially commenced.

On 1 September I also announced the new board of IA under Mr Mark Birrell.

IA will now be able to better demonstrate transparency and rigour in its prioritisation of projects and its advice to government.

IA is getting on with the key priorities this government has tasked it with:

Let's be clear: IA is already assessing projects which involve Commonwealth funding of at least $100 million and will make public the details of their evaluations. This was the government's election commitment and this is what we are delivering without the trigger being specified in legislation.

With the previous amendments provided for in the Infrastructure Australia Amendment Bill 2013, the government had provided for this to be specified through a disallowable legislative instrument. However, the bill as amended by the Senate no longer provided for such an instrument. We therefore made an undertaking during debate on the Land Transport Infrastructure Amendment Bill 2014 to ensure that the $100 million threshold would be included in this act.

This bill will amend the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008(IA Act) to clarify the legislative and administrative arrangements for Infrastructure Australia. It will also rectify the currently incorrect placement of provisions pertaining to cost-benefit analyses of infrastructure proposals in the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008. This will ensure that cost-benefit analyses inform the evaluation of proposals under the IA Act.

The bill will amend the act to include in the functions provision the requirement that Infrastructure Australia undertake evaluations of proposals that involve Commonwealth funding of at least $100 million. This figure is to be established as a benchmark based on 2014 dollars and indexed at least every five years to ensure this figure maintains relativity into future years.

Australia's future growth will be significantly influenced by our capacity to deliver more appropriate, efficient and effective infrastructure and transport. Investment in nationally significant infrastructure is central to growing Australia's productivity and improving the living standards of Australians now and in the future.

To maximise productivity improvement through investment, funding must flow to projects that yield the highest benefits. Therefore, it is critical to base project selection on rigorous analysis and sound planning to avoid wasteful investment. The government recognises that Australia needs improved planning—coordinated across jurisdictions—to underpin investment and regulatory reforms.

We are, therefore, focussed on long-term planning based on robust, evidence based findings through a greater understanding of the critical issues facing Australia's infrastructure and land transport system.

Notwithstanding the significant reforms the government has made to Infrastructure Australia, it remains an advisory body, a key advisory body with an independent view. It will not be the decision maker in terms of funding allocation. That responsibility will remain with governments.

The bill currently before parliament builds on the IA reforms and corrects anomalies which arose from amendments made to the bill during the parliamentary debate so as to enable the organisation to operate effectively now the new organisational structure has commenced.

The key elements of this bill are to:

During debate on the previous amendments to the Infrastructure Australia Act in June this year, the member for Grayndler, Mr Albanese, indicated his support for the amendments we are now bringing. He said:

I put on the record here that if the minister wanted to have a minor amendment bill or what have you to fix up that little bit, if he thought it was important, there would be support from the opposition.

I thank Mr Albanese for his support in bringing forward these amendments to further strengthen Infrastructure Australia.

As these amendments only relate to clarification or are of an administrative nature by rectifying an anomaly, there are no regulatory or financial impacts on business and the not-for-profit sectors. There is no net impact on the government budget flowing from the changes in this bill.

The government is committed to broadening the current infrastructure reform agenda in collaboration with jurisdictions and industry to improve productivity and drive economic growth.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.