Reform to meet Australia’s future infrastructure needs

By Gabrielle Stannus
 

Infrastructure Australia’s 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan includes key recommendations across six infrastructure sectors and three cross-sector themes, the outcomes of which could benefit members of the greenlife industry directly and indirectly. Infrastructure Australia’s call for appropriate investment in social (including green) infrastructure could increase demand for greenlife products and services, whilst its proposed reforms in more traditional infrastructure sectors will enable greenlife businesses to conduct their business more efficiently and sustainably.

Infrastructure Australia is an independent statutory body responsible for auditing Australia’s nationally significant infrastructure and developing 15-year rolling infrastructure plans that specify national and state level priorities. Infrastructure Australia’s 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan responded to 180 infrastructure challenges and opportunities identified in its 2019 Australian Infrastructure Audit. This plan identifies key recommendations for six infrastructure sectors and three cross-sector themes (see Table 1):

Table 1. Key infrastructure sectors and cross-sector themes identified within the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan¹

Implementation

Infrastructure Australia are developing detailed plans for each of the six infrastructure sectors and three cross-sector themes addressed in the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan. The publication of these detailed plans will be staggered over the coming months.

The 2021 Implementation Pathway summarises the actions proposed for each change agent across the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan. It provides a table for each change agent that identifies the actions (recommendations, outcomes and activities) that the change agent has been proposed to sponsor, lead or support. (NB. The role of industry representative groups is outlined on pages 209-213 of this document.)

However, before action can occur, the Australian Government needs to formally respond to Infrastructure Australia’s reform recommendations. This may take some time, given the Australian Government’s response to the 2016 Australian Infrastructure Plan was delivered 12 months after publication of that plan.

Progress will also be dependent on funding being allocated within Australian Government agencies and action undertaken by relevant lead agencies, e.g. state/territory and local governments.

More social infrastructure means more green infrastructure

Whilst these detailed plans are not yet available, Infrastructure Australia has identified social infrastructure as a key sector for reform. Green infrastructure is included as an element of social infrastructure, along with blue infrastructure and recreation, education, health and aged care, arts and culture, social housing, and justice and emergency services.

In the national plan, Infrastructure Australia called on all levels of government to lead the development of green infrastructure through the following actions:

• Supporting mental and physical health through appropriate investment in green and blue and recreational infrastructure.
• Improving health and wellbeing by developing an appropriate methodology for analysing public space performance, including green and blue infrastructure.
• Establishing a consistent approach to capturing, measuring and assessing the quadruple-bottom-line benefits of social infrastructure, including green infrastructure.
• Developing an agreed, consistent approach to measuring the economic impact of social infrastructure, including green infrastructure
• Using this new framework to collaboratively plan, develop and invest in social infrastructure, including green infrastructure, that enhances unique regional identities and brands and for this approach to be applied when planning new precincts and renewal projects (with existing plans updated every five years)

What can the greenlife industry do?

Greenlife Industry Australia (GIA) has long championed the importance of more green spaces and canopy cover in urban areas through the 202020 Vision, Greener Spaces Better Places and other advocacy and alliance initiatives. Ben Grange, GIA Vice-President, says that the 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan shows that there is still much more work to be done in this space.

“We need a more targeted approach to maximise green infrastructure opportunities across the country,” says Ben, “As the peak national industry body, it is our role to support the state-based nursery and garden industry (NGI) associations to deliver outcomes at a state level that meet these national objectives.”

Whilst each state and territory now have jurisdiction-wide infrastructure plans, some have yet to be endorsed by government (see Table 2). State and local levels of government should lead by example by incorporating green infrastructure into public spaces, including infrastructure corridors, whilst using state and local planning frameworks to encourage (discretionary provisions) and enforce (mandatory provisions) green infrastructure initiatives in the private realm.

Table 2. Infrastructure plans across Australian states and territories

NB. Not all strategies listed here refer specifically to ‘green infrastructure’, with some identifying ‘green spaces’ instead.
 

Traditional infrastructure enables better business efficiency

“Green infrastructure goes hand in hand with energy, water, waste, transport and telecommunications infrastructure. You cannot plan any of this so-called traditional infrastructure without planning green infrastructure, yet it is this traditional infrastructure that will bring our businesses into the 21st century,” says Ben.

Greenlife businesses will benefit from many of the national infrastructure plan’s recommendations concerning more traditional infrastructure:

Energy

The zero net future proposed by Infrastructure Australia would enable greenlife businesses to reduce their energy consumption and become more energy efficient as transformation is driven in this sector, e.g. smart meters, rooftop solar, batteries and electric and zero emission vehicles.

Telecommunications

Ensuring equity in an era of accelerating digitalisation would mean that all greenlife businesses would have access to ‘smart’ telecommunications including 5G and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Transport

An integrated transport network would help greenlife businesses deliver its perishable product across the country more efficiently, helping it to better meet consumer demand.

Waste

Infrastructure Australia’s call to accelerate Australia’s transition to a circular economy would mean that programs such as the Polypropylene Plant Packaging Recycling Program (PoPPr) program would continue to flourish.

Upgrading and/or replacing ageing infrastructure to boost water security in the face of climate change will provide certainty to greenlife businesses operating during these challenging times.

“Innovation in business is something that we need to focus on as that really helps businesses prosper. If greenlife industries can do business better and more efficiently that helps the whole of industry to grow,” concludes Ben.

Where to from here?

Infrastructure Australia welcomes engagement with industry through submissions to its Infrastructure Priority List, and the provision of best-practice case studies that would add to its evidence base. Although submissions for the 2022 Infrastructure Priority List update closed on 3 September 2021, Infrastructure Australia says that this list is a living document. Submissions received after that date will be considered for future updates of the Priority List.

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(References)

1. Infrastructure Australia 2021, Reforms to meet Australia’s future infrastructure needs: 2021 Australian Infrastructure Plan Executive Summary, August 2021, viewed 21 October 2021, (page 9)