The $100 billion infrastructure backlog is impinging on Melbourne’s productivity says Committee for Melbourne acting chief executive officer Andrea Gaffney. In order to deal with the backlog, it has been suggested that an independent, non-government body be set up, the news of which comes only days after the announcement of the state government’s reinvestment in Victoria’s public transport system.
“We believe there is a significant infrastructure backlog in Melbourne to the tune of $100 billion and that price tag has increased over the last decade” says Gaffney.
She goes on to state that the backlog of infrastructure developments not only impedes on the smooth running of the state, but could actually effect its high liveability standard.
The push for infrastructure efficiency is in light of Melbourne’s drastic population growth, which is only expected to rise. Gaffney believes that an independent body would aid in the efficiency of getting these infrastructure projects out in order to effect long term goals.
“We believe the development of a plan should be looking out to the next 50 years. It should be long-term aspirational and not just necessarily looking out to the next 10 years or thereabouts” Gaffney says.
Backing these sentiments is executive board member for the Committee for Melbourne. He is pushing for the body to improve long-term planning by the government, rather than simply appeasing voters in the now.
“What we need is an all-party commitment to a long-term commitment for the city, so it’s a vision that sustains itself beyond the electoral cycle,” says Fricke, “we’ve got a lot of short-term thinking; we’d like to see some long-term thinking”.
A meeting will be commence shortly, by which a proposal for the independent infrastructure body may be presented.