Roads Australia
The upcoming release of the Henry tax review provides a generational opportunity to wipe the slate clean and come up with a new and better deal for transport infrastructure funding, planning and management - one that is more attuned to the challenges facing Australia in the 21st century.
The current public administration and funding regime no longer meets the national need in terms of efficient, effective, long-term transport infrastructure planning, equity between stakeholders, and the meeting of challenges like congestion.
What we have today is largely an accident of history. Local and state governments have the principal responsibility for delivering our roads and transport solutions, but the least ability to fund or plan them independently. Moreover, the system is beset by inequities in the way different transport users are charged and funding is raised.
Underlying this is the fact that the planning and funding process is all too often hostage to the short-term political cycle, and with it the annual appropriation and budget approval cycles. None of this makes for a consistent, reasoned allocation of responsibility and resources in the long-term national interest.
Initiatives such as Infrastructure Australia and the COAG reform process are a significant step in the right direction. Roads Australia would like to see this spirit of co-operation and coordination between governments taken further, providing a platform for more fundamental reform.
To that end, Roads Australia urges all levels of government to use the Henry review as a catalyst to come together and review the constitutional and administrative processes and responsibilities as they relate to the planning, funding, delivery, operation and maintenance of our transport infrastructure.
Roads Australia particularly welcomes the current debate on road funding and financing sparked by the speculation surrounding the Henry review.
The issue was high on the agenda at last week’s Roads Australia National Road Summit, and has subsequently drawn national media attention this week.
To inform debate amongst its members, Roads Australia recently commissioned an independent discussion paper on the governance, planning and funding of our road network, undertaken by respected industry figure, Dr Max Lay.
Dr Maxwell Lay AM has significantly influenced civil engineering in Australia and the infrastructure of the nation. He has written over 700 publications, including works which are internationally recognised as seminal texts. He is the author of the articles on roads in the Encyclopaedia Britannica and in the Oxford Encyclopaedia of Economic History.
This paper, although not necessarily representing the views of Roads Australia, is being provided to members to generate ideas and feedback. It raises important issues that should be considered in the broad context of the current debate on transport infrastructure planning and funding.
Our quality of life and economic growth are being frustrated by inadequate infrastructure investment, poor price signals to drive investment, and confused governance for roads.
The changes needed won’t be easy, but essential change rarely is.
Working with its members and alongside all levels of government, Roads Australia is committed to making a positive contribution to the current debate and the process of reform.
Submitted by Christine Keyes on Thursday April 29th 2010 2:46pm