Australia is lagging the rest of the world when it comes to infrastructure development. We need the facilities like road, rail and other transport, but we also need the economic stimulus such development brings. Governments aren’t in a position to provide all this all at once. Private enterprise is willing to help, but private enterprise wants certainty when it invests. What can government do to provide this certainty so we can get the infrastructure happening?
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Australia has a pressing need for investment in and development of its infrastructure, whether it be new infrastructure or the upgrading of existing infrastructure.
It’s well recognised that Australia’s lagging behind the rest of the world in key areas such as road, rail and transport. This investment in infrastructure is required to stimulate economic activity, to drive innovation, to provide facilities and services for the population and it seems clear that the majority of government sponsored infrastructure will still be done through the public purse but governments do recognise the advantages in private sector funding of infrastructure.
Benefits such as the ability of the private sector to provide innovation, efficiency and take a whole of life approach. But to invest, the private sector requires certainty. At the moment we are seeing funds being diverted to existing assets and to overseas investments because of lack of certainty in terms of the timeline for procurement of projects as well as the processes for their delivery, and that’s particularly so in the case of our burgeoning super funds which have shown a reluctance to date to invest in green fields infrastructure projects.
So that’s the challenge.
So what needs to be done? We think there are great opportunities that can be unleashed through greater co-ordination of the stakeholders. We’ve got the private sector wanting to invest in these projects. We’ve got the government with a need for this investment and a desire to embrace this type of investment where appropriate.
So we encourage governments to do what they’re doing which is to drive efficiencies and streamline the delivery of these projects. And that can be pretty simple things like standardising the procurement processes; standardising the documentation across the country; identifying a clear pipeline of projects; articulating that pipeline; making sure that we are co-ordinated on a national basis; addressing the skills shortage - that might include a range of measures such as more flexibility in immigration, prioritising the spending on training initiatives and apprenticeships, facilitating the entry of new contractors into this market, into the domestic market.
So all the ingredients are there. It is a matter of co-ordinating the stakeholders to harness these opportunities to deliver great benefits, we think, to the nation. And as a firm, Corrs are committed to engaging with all of the relevant stakeholders to ensure that this happens.
