Janet Rice (Victoria, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move Greens amendments (5) and (6) on sheet 7495 revised:

(5) Subsection (4) does not limit the matters to which the Minister may have regard in determining whether to approve the provision of Commonwealth funding for the project.

4C Cost benefit analyses to be made public

(1) The Minister must ensure that the following information about a Black Spot Project, Heavy Vehicle Safety and Productivity Project, Investment Project or Transport Development and Innovation Project is made available on the Department's website, if Commonwealth funding is provided for the project:

  (a) a description of the project;

  (b) when the project is to start and is likely to be completed;

(c) Infrastructure Australia's evaluation of the project under subsection 4B(2) (if applicable);

  (d) any advice given by Infrastructure Australia in relation to the project as mentioned in paragraph 4B(4)(c).

(2) The information must be published no later than 14 days after the Commonwealth first informs a recipient of the funding that Commonwealth funding will be provided for the project.

(6) Schedule 1, item 14, page 7, after proposed section 4C, insert:

4D Cost benefit analyses of other projects

(1) Infrastructure Australia must give to the Minister a cost benefit analysis of a land transport infrastructure project if:

  (a) Commonwealth funding is provided for the project (under this Act or any other law) on or after the commencement of this section (whether the provision of the funding was agreed to, approved or announced before, on or after that commencement); and

  (b) capital expenditure on the project is $50 million or more; and

(c) Infrastructure Australia is not required to give a cost benefit analysis of the project to the Minister under another provision of this Act.

(2) The Minister must ensure that the cost benefit analysis is made available on the Department's website.

These amendments amend the bill so that for any project of $50 million or more in capital expenditure, the minister must have regard to the Infrastructure Australia evaluation of the project. The evaluation of the project must include a cost-benefit analysis, the priority of the project as per Infrastructure Australia's infrastructure plan and any other relevant matter, and the evaluation must be made available on the department's website. If there is any Commonwealth funding for the project, the department website must make information available with the description of the project, time lines, the advice by the Infrastructure Australia and the evaluation.

We have suggested the $50 million benchmark because this was the benchmark that was in the recommendation of the Productivity Commission report in the public infrastructure, which was undertaken this year. In the report, they stated:

All governments should commit to subjecting all public infrastructure investment proposals above $50 million to rigorous cost–benefit analyses that are publicly released …

We think that moving these amendments to this bill is a very good opportunity to put this recommendation into legislation. Accountability and making sure that investment in transport infrastructure is cost-effective is incredibly important because, when you are investing in transport, we have got a limited budget. We have got to make sure that they are being spent in the most appropriate way possible. That is what this amendment is seeking to achieve with these important investments that are going to be made into our transport infrastructure.