The project jams that typified the end of the last boom are set to return as economic growth is restored, new research warns.
However, Australia does have a unique opportunity to confront its infrastructure challenges ahead of the next wave of growth, Business Council of Australia chair, Rod Pearse, said.
Pearse launched the BCA report, Groundwork for Growth: Building the Infrastructure that Australia Needs.
“The report highlights that now is the time to take a long-term view of Australia’s growth,” Pearse said.
“We have an opportunity to lay the groundwork for sustainable growth over the next decade by setting a clear national ambition for Australia’s growth and by planning for the infrastructure to support it,” Pearse said.
The country must now put in place the infrastructure reforms required to improve both the economy and the quality of life in Australian cities and communities, he said.
“We all want to make sure that our communities have the services they need, and that they are sustainable, healthy and efficient.”
The report warns that as economic growth returns and the population continues to expand, infrastructure bottlenecks that appeared towards the end of the last boom are certain to reappear.
Infrastructure efficiency and capacity is particularly important to Australia because of our small and dispersed population and distance from markets.
There are three additional priorities to address Australia’s infrastructure challenges, the BCA report finds. The nation must make better use of its existing infrastructure and improve investment signals, improve infrastructure and project planning, so that investments achieve clearly defined objectives, and measure progress transparently.
“Infrastructure is the crucial underpinning for sustainable growth in Australia’s economy and population,” Pearce said.
To measure progress, the report says, the capacity of Australia’s infrastructure to support growth should receive a regular independent audit by the Productivity Commission.
The report incorporates research into detailed reforms covering freight, urban transport, urban and rural water, electricity and broadband communications, conducted by Rod Sims, a director of Port Jackson Partners Limited.
