05.09.2019Significant infrastructure investment needed as population swells

Development on the urban fringes of Australia’s fourth largest cities – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth – is having a significant impact on our infrastructure assets and calls for substantial additional investment.

That was one of the key messages that emerged following the release of Infrastructure Australia’s 2019 Australian Infrastructure Audit, which aims to create a forward-looking understanding of Australia’s infrastructure challenges to help guide decision-making and reform.

For the first time, the audit covers social infrastructure, in addition to other traditional areas, including transport, water, telecommunications, and energy.

Committee for Melbourne attended a Melbourne roundtable, part of IA’s stakeholder engagement program. The discussion explored in detail some of the critical challenges identified in the audit, as well as what participants considered to be Melbourne’s key priorities.

The need for an integrated transport, land use, and economic development plan for Melbourne, combined with bi-partisan agreement on a pipeline of infrastructure projects, were themes consistently raised in the discussions.

Participants discussed the impact our population explosion is having on all aspects of infrastructure, stretching everything from hospitals, schools, public transport, and utility assets.

The Committee will provide a written submission to Infrastructure Australia later this year, which will inform the development of the Australian Infrastructure Plan.