The Australian Road Forum, Australia’s peak road transport stakeholder group, welcomes the Federal Government’s $20 billion commitment to the Building Australia Fund.
ARF is also pleased to see that the Rudd Government is committed to the $22.3 billion AusLink 2 funding package announced in the 2007 Budget.
With so much money on the table, it’s now critical that we make the right decisions about how it’s spent.
The immediate challenge for Infrastructure Australia (IA) is to ensure that the investment opportunities identified for funding are those that generate optimum economic benefits for Australia.
At the same time, the road industry looks to IA to commit to a steady pipeline of work that will provide surety for the industry to forward plan and deliver the necessary resources to undertake these projects.
Such a pipeline will be an important trigger for private and public investment in the skills that we so desperately need in this country.
Any investment in infrastructure should go hand in hand with a serious commitment to investing in the whole range of skills to do with roads and road transport. This includes smart information technology, skilling for drivers and operators, and a more skilled and capable engineering industry.
ARF is committed to working closely with the Rudd Government, its agencies and various state and local counterparts, to make the most of this wonderful opportunity to provide a land infrastructure network that will secure our future economic and social needs.
Media enquiries:
Ray Fisher
ARF President
Ph. 0419 875 661
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Wednesday May 14th 2008 3:47pm