Victoria's 30 Year Infrastructure Plan Needs More - MBAV

Victoria’s 30-year draft plan for infrastructure released in October identified a range of important projects as priorities.

However, Master Builders believes the plan, identifying Victoria’s current and future infrastructure needs and priorities, didn’t offer enough detail for how those projects would be delivered, giving questionable value to a process that was designed to avoid politics.

There were some good components, such as North East Link, an airport rail link and some key public transport projects, but there is a big omission with regard to delivery, and this is an issue that demands specifics. What we were given was a well-walked path that leads nowhere we haven’t been before.

It’s clear that increasing infrastructure and housing density will result in increased congestion in our urban areas. It is an important issue the state needs to deal with, but proposals for addressing it, like a congestion tax, should be fair and not impose undue cost burdens on ordinary people. That includes people in the construction industry, who use their vehicles every day for work and people living in outer suburbs who might be penalised, basically, for living in outer suburbs.

Victoria’s population now grows faster than any other state. By 2046, the population of the state is expected to reach 9.5 million and require more than two million more dwellings. To meet that demand, and to enable our industry to play its important role, we need investment in future infrastructure and an infrastructure delivery system with teeth.

To find out more about what is planned for Victoria’s future go to infrastructurevictoria.com.au