Greater cooperation between public and private sectors to fund investment in urban and regional infrastructure
Targeted infrastructure keeps us out of traffic jams, ensures we are better connected, allows us to be healthier and raises our education levels and it makes our cities more productive. It also helps create a strong building industry and a strong economy, creating job and training opportunities for more Australians.
Our infrastructure challenges will become more complex in the future; our population is expected to grow by more than a third in the next 20 years.
We need to tackle transport bottlenecks, improve public transport in capital cities and regional areas, and build more hospitals, schools, aged care centres and other community facilities closer to where we live.
In regional and remote communities, infrastructure is especially important. In many instances, the origins of small communities and towns are linked to infrastructure proximity and their future often depends upon infrastructure being maintained and improved.
Australia’s infrastructure challenge requires an investment of around $30 billion annually by 2020 according to Infrastructure Australia. Separately, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia estimates it could cost as much as $770 billion just to deal with existing infrastructure gaps.
The next Federal Government must continue to develop new and innovative ways for public and private sector investment to occur for funding key economic and social infrastructure.
Infrastructure funding proposals must be streamlined as more investment in infrastructure will improve Australia's quality of life and create jobs.