As prime minister Tony Abbott completes a whistle-stop tour of Asia, Australia’s “place in Asia” is an ongoing discussion. Abbott hailed the “shared values” that enabled Australia’s free trade deal with…
Australia does not have a national cities policy. But in committing funding to transport infrastructure, the federal government is significantly shaping Australian cities. Local government and community-based…
Treasurer Joe Hockey has spent much of the year – certainly since the G20 finance ministers’ conference in Sydney – talking up “capital recycling”. The idea sounds promising: new projects can be built…
Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey’s announcement that states will receive an incentive payment of 15% of asset sales if they invest the funds in infrastructure is good news for Queensland’s Newman government…
The federal government will give the states a substantial financial incentive to sell assets and recycle the funds into new infrastructure, as part of its effort to boost jobs and productivity. A fund…
This week, Australian motoring groups decided to back road user charges, arguing that it would be a fairer system. At the same time, the groups said the change to user charges would secure sufficient funding…
Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s planned repeal of 9500 redundant regulations and 1000 Acts of Parliament could loosen dangerously close ties between politicians and developers. While such ties are problematic…
Australia’s two biggest construction companies, Leighton and Lend Lease, control a significant share of construction – up to 75% in cases such as major rail projects. The recent Productivity Commission…
The electoral uncertainty in South Australia has come to an end, at least for the foreseeable future. To some disbelief, Labor premier Jay Weatherill has managed to overcome the odds – and indeed the polls…
The superhero jokes started straight away. mX — the local public transport throwaway — opened its coverage of Brisbane’s newly-named BaT (Bus and Train) Tunnel with: Na na na na na na na na BaT Tunnel…
Last week’s Productivity Commission draft report on public infrastructure made a number of useful recommendations about getting projects assessed and delivered on time. But the report does not go far beyond…
The recent productivity commission report into public infrastructure left the most important policy question unasked, namely: if there were better ways for planning and building transport infrastructure…
Elected with a pledge to be the infrastructure prime minister, Tony Abbott has repeatedly promised to bring more private investment into high-priority infrastructure projects. Last week’s Productivity…
According to Ofcom, 80% of adults in the UK had access to the internet in 2013 and each spent about 35 hours online each month. And half of all adults in the UK access the web using their mobile phones…
Governments have “run out of money” and the “cashed up” private sector needs to step up investment, Treasurer Joe Hockey said today as he outlined this year’s G20 agenda. “Too many tax payers’ dollars…
I wonder how many friends I would make among commuters by suggesting last week’s 3% rise in rail fares is at least in part a good news story. Of course, there has been understandable indignation that fares…
When Tony Abbott stepped up to claim victory for the Coalition in September, he declared Australia was “under new management and once more open for business”. One hundred days on, we look at the open for…
The government’s announcement that it is to sell off its stake in Eurostar is another sign of its convoluted thinking towards railway policy. The operator of international train services from London through…
Prime Minister Tony Abbott recently declared that he wanted to be known as the “infrastructure prime minister”. But what of Australia’s iciest infrastructure – that located in Antarctica? A 20-year strategic…
Australia spends more on infrastructure today than at any stage in its history. Yet governments are unable to meet demand and don’t expect ever to do so. What can governments do to keep up with escalating…