Roads Australia
ARF has renewed its call for a unified approach to road planning, management and funding across all levels of government ahead of the November Federal election.
ARF President, Ray Fisher, says the upcoming election provides an opportune time for all road industry stakeholders - both public and private sector - to commit to a long-term, national reform agenda for road infrastructure planning and funding.
“While the majority of players in both government and industry agree on the need for a national approach to land transport infrastructure, practical co-operation is the key,” he said.
“All stakeholders need to come together in a spirit of co-operation, and to work to establish a clearly defined set of roles and responsibilities that promotes a program approach to planning and funding.”
Mr Fisher also called for debate on the bipartisan assessment of national road needs and funding.
“National infrastructure funding needs to move beyond politics and borders,” he said.
“We need long-term planning and funding commitments that are not tied to traditional government budgetary cycles or political terms of office.
“AusLink I and II are certainly steps in the right direction, as are some recent initiatives by state governments, but more needs to be done.”
Mr Fisher said the current skills crisis underlined the need for firm, long-term planning and funding commitments.
“The staff and plant resources required to build our roads take more years to develop than the current planning horizons to which most governments are prepared to commit,” he said.
Other objectives on ARF’s policy agenda include:
For more information on ARF policies click here.
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Wednesday October 17th 2007 9:58am