2.1 COAG, in March 2008, agreed to the Infrastructure Working Group's recommendation that the National Infrastructure Audit be one of the immediate priorities for Infrastructure Australia, the others being the development of an Infrastructure Priority List and development of National Public Private Partnership Guidelines.67
2.2 The terms of reference for the National Infrastructure Audit were agreed by the COAG Infrastructure Working Group in its first meeting in January 2008 and were as follows:
Infrastructure Australia is to undertake a National Infrastructure Audit to determine the adequacy, capacity and condition of nationally significant infrastructure taking account of forecast growth.
'Nationally significant infrastructure' includes (but is not limited to) infrastructure and infrastructure networks in the water, energy, transport and communications sectors (the operations of which materially impact on productivity growth.)
The Audit is to identify gaps, deficiencies, impediments and bottlenecks in the identified sectors as measured against expected future demand.
2.3 It was envisaged by the COAG Infrastructure Working Group that development of the Infrastructure Priority List was to be informed by the outcomes of the National Infrastructure Audit. The National Infrastructure Audit was to be completed by December 2008.
2.4 The deadline for completion of the Infrastructure Priority List was brought forward in October 2008 by COAG. It was originally to be completed by March 2009. However, in the context of the global financial crisis, it was to be completed by December 2008, the same deadline for the National Infrastructure Audit. According to the COAG communiqué from the October 2008 meeting, this was to 'enable the Commonwealth, advised by Infrastructure Australia, to make timely decisions on projects that will advance Australia's nation building agenda.'68 This put added pressure on Infrastructure Australia for the completion of both the National Infrastructure Audit and the preparation of the Infrastructure Priority List.
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67 Council of Australian Governments Meeting, 26 March 2008, Communique, P. 6.
68 Council of Australian Governments Meeting, 2 October 2008, Communique, p. 3.