Will the Rudd/Gillard government take immediate action on key infrastructure issues?

John Howard warned us all before the federal election that ‘if you change the government, you change the nation’. He was dead right- especially in regard to Australian cities. Rarely have the planets aligned as they do now to present a magnificent opportunity, and responsibility, for our new government to reshape the nation. Think of the delicious ingredients in play that set the stage for fundamental reform, for policy refinement, for economic reinforcement and for social renewal.

Firstly, and most importantly, there is no federal or state election due to take place in Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane for at least two years, allowing for policy to rule supreme over politics.

Secondly, we have a new Federal government with a strong parliamentary majority and an unambiguous mandate for reform and led by a man who can be proudly described as a ‘policy wonk’.

Thirdly, Commonwealth Treasury is currently enjoying a once-in-a-century revenue inflow, on he back or a remarkable resources boom.

To squander this rare combination of factors and not invest in nation-building projects and nation-reforming policies would truly break the nations heart. It would also dishonour the legacy of economic reform and public sector management the Rudd Government has inherited from the Hawke, Keating and Howard governments before it. There is a great deal of work to do.

We face social and physical infrastructure backlog in Australian cities and suburbs that is regrettable, considering the years of revenue clover that the federal Treasury has enjoyed.

There are a number of challenges ahead of Kevin Rudd as he tries to reshape and renew Australia, but most can be addressed by first adopting a partnership approach to government.

He desperately needs to form an economic partnership with state and local government to rebuild our crumbling urban infrastructure. While not denying opportunity to regional and remote communities, it is the urban centres of Australia that have suffered neglect over the past decade.

The Federal Government cannot become a rural development agency, leaving state and local governments to cope with the huge costs of building, operating and maintaining our urban ‘hardware’, particularly mass-transit links. We need to unclog urban roads and train lines, but we also need to unlock the creative and innovative spirit of city dwellers.

A young person denied the right to clean, safe and efficient transport links is the same person denied the right to education, recreation and participation in the workforce. An elderly person denied access to transport is the same person denied access to health services and quality of life. Urban transport is a social, as well as an economic, policy area.

To address this issue, the Rudd Government must also tap into Australia’s greatest, and least utilised economic resource- the combination of intellectual expertise in the financial services sector and the $1-trillion pool of superannuation funds.

In the past decade, our merchant banks and industry super funds have strode the international stage, building, packaging, managing and funding airports, highways, water utilities, power plants, renewable energy programs, schools, hospitals, railways and telecommunications systems for global communities.

However, these same local institutions struggle to find ‘deal flow’ in Australia as a result of timidity, a lack of vision and an underwhelming commitment to public- private partnerships among some domestic governments.

We have used the retirement saving of Australian workers and the intellectual capital of our own people to rebuild cities around the world, while our own cities languish.

We now have a tremendous opportunity to create a grand coalition between all levels of government and the private sector to unblock our ports, railways and highways, boost exports, develop a sustainable energy base and build social infrastructure for the benefit of millions of urban Australians.

The challenges ahead for Kevin Rudd are significant, but the rewards of innovative urban partnerships are enormous.

Courtesy of  Chris Brown –Chairman of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia

                                                    Associate Professor University of Technology Sydney