The Henry tax review provides a generational opportunity to wipe the slate clean and come up with a new deal for transport infrastructure funding, planning and management in Australia.
Roads Australia, the peak stakeholder group for the roads industry, says the Henry review findings on road pricing, governance and investment accountability are a welcome contribution to the debate about transport infrastructure planning and funding.
“There’s no doubt we must have a system that better reflects the true cost of accessing our road network, and at the same time provides a dedicated source of funding for capital works and maintenance,” says RA President, Ray Fisher.
“We need greater public transparency in the charges that road users pay, and stronger links to the benefits they receive.
“The Henry review advocates a much stronger link between investment decisions and value to road users, and this is a view long held by Roads Australia.
"If we’re going to talk about better ways to price and fund transport, it needs to be in the context of a much bigger debate on the planning and management of transport infrastructure. The Federal Government now needs to take the bull by the horns and work alongside all levels of government on a process of constitutional and administrative reform of how we plan, fund, deliver, operate and maintain our transport infrastructure.”
Mr Fisher says the current public administration and funding regime no longer meets national needs in terms of efficient and effective infrastructure planning, equity between stakeholders, and the meeting of challenges like congestion.
“Notwithstanding initiatives like Infrastructure Australia, we still have a fractured approach to decision-making and little co-ordination in revenue raising,” he says.
“Currently, local and state governments have the principal responsibility for delivering our transport system, 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.”
Mr Fisher says governments have shown a genuine willingness to work together through the COAG national reform process.
“It’s encouraging to see governments working together more closely than ever before. But in terms of an overarching, national consensus on transport infrastructure funding, planning and management, they need to take it a step further and a step faster,” he says.
“We hope the Henry tax review will be the catalyst for this to happen.”
Mr Fisher says the debate about pricing mechanisms shouldn’t be a distraction from some of the other pressing issues on the industry agenda, like road maintenance and renewal and opportunities for greater private sector involvement in road planning and management.
“”We’re fast approaching a crisis point in terms of our aging transport infrastructure. We’re simply not keeping pace with the road maintenance and renewal task,” he says.
Media enquiries:
RA President
Ray Fisher
0419 875 661
Submitted by Mark Bowmer on Sunday May 2nd 2010 4:51pm