UDIA welcomes the announcement by The Hon Catherine King, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government on the Federal Government’s new Infrastructure Policy Statement.
UDIA is pleased to see that Government has listened to industry on the need to integrate infrastructure spend with planned development of cities, suburbs and regions. Linking strategic planning, population and employment growth, the supply and availability of housing with land transport infrastructure investment is critical,” said Col Dutton, UDIA National President.
The industry’s capacity to deliver housing is intrinsically linked to the strategic planning, funding and delivery of core infrastructure, and the Policy Statement covers all the critical issues UDIA has been advocating to ensure that nationally significant transport infrastructure will be integrated to housing priorities and properly planned cities, as well as emphasising access and liveability.
“Cities that are made for Access – should be our key goal to guide transport and infrastructure spending in line with urban planning, which puts people at the heart of city shaping investments. It also means that we can improve productivity in delivering new housing if the city is planned from the beginning alongside infrastructure,” said Col Dutton.
Often current transport infrastructure projects suffer from long lead times and it is difficult to see the actual city building or improved housing and amenity, because it has often been done without reference to a strategic plan for building communities.
The infrastructure funding outlined in the announcement will be reshaped, returning to a preference of 50:50 funding with States and Territories to ensure risks and benefits are shared equally.
“The Government’s proposed strategy puts in place a puzzle piece that is important for unlocking more housing supply that supports long-term sustainability of the construction industry and better cities, right at the time we need it the most,” said Mr Dutton.
UDIA looks forward to continuing to work with Government to enable our industry to deliver the aims of this important infrastructure plan.
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