The PM is saying that his is an ‘Infrastructure Government’. He refers to $20 billion being spent on some 10 projects (nine road projects and one freight hub), but there’s not much more detail.
So I recently approached the Department of Infrastructure and PM&C to see if there’s a wider agenda underway to pick up forms of infrastructure other than roads.
While my questions met with a guarded response, we’ve agreed to meet. To focus our discussion we’ve prepared a document highlighting the 15 classes of infrastructure. Below are seven that local councils would readily relate to.
Road transport
- Motorways, arterial roads, local roads
- Bridges and roundabouts
- Freight terminals
- Electric vehicles and supply points
- Kerbs, guttering, street lighting, traffic lights
- Bicycle paths, pedestrian bridges, underpasses
Telecommunications
- Internet and Broadband
- Mobile phone coverage
- Satellite technology
Environment
- Foreshore development
- Walking trails, signage
- Seawalls, groynes, dune stabilisation
Water, sewerage and waste
- Water pipelines
- Storage reservoirs and ponds
- Stormwater and floodgates
- Wastewater and sewerage
- Waste management incl. collection and landfills
Health and wellbeing
- Hospitals
- Health Centres
- Mental health facilities
- Preventative health facilities e.g. parks and leisure facilities
Sports and recreation
- Parks, sports fields, golf courses
- Sports and leisure centres
- Gymnasiums
- Swimming pools
Arts and culture
- Museums, art galleries, theatres, concert halls, studios
- Carnivals and fairs.
I propose to ask federal officials if they could think about widening the agenda beyond roads – and to suggest they coordinate the delivery of infrastructure (a) across the fifteen levels of infrastructure, and (b) across the three levels of government. If the PM is serious, he’d surely want the different types of infrastructure moving in sync. This of course would challenge the crazy stop-go and competitive nature of federal programs.
It would mean:
- Local councils and/or RDA Committees commissioning infrastructure audits to identify the gaps and productivity losses
- The federal industry and infrastructure portfolios using such audits to shape decisions on infrastructure expenditure
- State industry and infrastructure portfolios aligning with this approach.
In practical terms, regions facing significant structural adjustment – Goulburn Valley, northern Adelaide, Illawarra, northern Tasmania – would have the three levels of government working to upgrade their infrastructure in a strategic fashion. Piecemeal quick fixes or the cheapest engineering solutions (e.g. the NBN roll-out process) would be ridiculed. This would improve the investor attractiveness of some regions and provide examples for other regions.
Urangeline and Jack Crawford
My wife and I were recently debating who has won the most majors, and she was disappointed to learn that her beloved Rafa is still No. 3 on the list. But not much below him was Jack Crawford, winner of six majors in the 1930s – 4 Australian, 1 French and 1 Wimbledon.
Now I’d always thought Crawford was a Yank, so I was dumfounded to learn that he was born and raised in Urangeline, a hamlet outside Urana (Riverina). This is noteworthy given that small communities must market their points of difference to attract tourists and/or investors. And the fascinating thing is that a short distance away are Tarcutta (Tony Roche), Albury (Margaret Smith), Barellan (Evonne Goolagong) and Culcairn (Rex Hartwig).
Similarly, regional Queensland has made a massive contribution to tennis – Rockhampton (Laver), Blackbutt (Roy Emerson), Mt. Isa (Rafter), Theodore (Mal Anderson), Mackay (Pratt) and Toowoomba (Case, Kronk) to name a few.
The question we’ve been kicking around since is whether the smaller communities could get a hand-up to attract sports-mad tourists? These communities could become regular rest areas for travellers if judicious investments were made in interpretive centres, picnic facilities, restrooms, information signage, quality food etc.
Holograms of locally-bred champions could be particularly successful – tourists love them and they are relatively inexpensive. Indeed, the army of Essendon supporters could be flocking to Dimboola (Tim Watson), Ungarie (Daniher Clan) and Avenel (Ronnie Andrews). The raspberry cordial is getting me over-excited. Nevertheless, please ring for a steer.
Becalmed
In late December Deputy PM Truss wrote to RDA Chairs reappointing them until June 2014 while he ‘considers how to most effectively seize and pursue economic development opportunities in the future’.
This means that the RDAs now face at least another six months of drift, and another 18 months until the main funding program, Stronger Regions, clicks in. But no one complains publicly at least. There is no lobby group for Regional Australia and Joe Hockey and the dries have convinced the silent majority that we are facing Armageddon.
Wordsworth comes to mind:
‘Becalmed upon the sea of Thought,
Still unattained the land it sought,
My mind, with loosely-hanging sails,
Lies waiting the auspicious gales.
Good advice from the Hill
A senior federal Minister’s adviser recently confirmed a continuing program slowdown. His advice was that councils should be scoping their ideas and projects now, rather than an almighty rush when the brakes do come off.
Rod Brown is a Canberra-based consultant and lobbyist specialising in industry/regional development, investment attraction and clusters, and accessing federal grants. He also runs the Cockatoo Network.
Phone: (02) 6231 7261 or 0412 922 559
Email: apdcockatoo@iprimus.com.au
Blog: www.investmentinnovation.wordpress.com (750 articles)
