Infrastructure Australia's approach to goal definition invites proponents to describe and map goals and objectives relevant to a proposed set of reforms and investments. In particular, it looks to focus on the alignment of goals and objectives across parties, and to identify other goals and objectives that might be affected by the options and initiatives that arise during later stages of the Framework.
Goal definition should result in a collection of clear statements, whether for a strategic planning or infrastructure decision-making task, that describe the fundamental economic, environmental and social goals that a proponent is looking to achieve. The key for the reform or investment decision-making task is to determine how it will contribute to these goals.
This goal-orientated approach aids in shifting decision-makers' focus towards the achievement of outcomes which can be delivered through a range of mechanisms, and away from decision making that is too readily directed towards investment oriented solutions.
Governments, industry and individual communities around Australia all have a shared interest in Australia's development. As such, they all express their own goals, aspirations and objectives for the nation, jurisdiction, locality and industry sector. If we are to work together rather than against each other, we need to understand how our goals and objectives are aligned at those various levels.
In practice, the high order goals adopted by governments often have a high degree of commonality, because they generally reflect broader economic, environmental and social aspirations. However, as the goals are translated into more specific objectives, the trade-offs between objectives (and, implicitly, the goals they support) become more apparent.
For example, several jurisdictions have published State level plans which set out the Government's high order goals and objectives. Most jurisdictions also have metropolitan planning strategies (although they may be described differently) which set out goals and objectives. In essence, Infrastructure Australia is looking to proponents to demonstrate how their assessment of problems and initiatives is linked to these existing goals and objectives.
In addition, the options and preferred solutions which emerge during Stages 5 and 6 of the Framework may have implications for the attainment of other goals and objectives (i.e. outside the primary goal and objectives to which the task is directed). For example, a task to improve economic development prospects in a particular region through upgrading transport links may lead to increased pressure for new residential development which may in turn overstretch existing water resources (both for potable water and environmental flows). It is therefore important to also be cognisant of other goals and objectives which may be indirectly affected by actions to address the primary goal and objectives.
This is consistent with Infrastructure Australia's mandate to consider infrastructure requirements across a range of infrastructure sectors including water, energy, telecommunications and transport.
The templates invite proponents to provide information setting out the alignment between a proponent's own goals and objectives and those of other governments and parties, whether at a national, State/Territory or local level. For example, Council of Australian Government (COAG) processes are increasingly being used to establish nationally agreed goals and targets in various domains. For its part, Infrastructure Australia has set out its strategic priorities at a national level (see Table 323 below).5
Infrastructure Australia would expect to see some alignment between a proponent's goals and objectives and those of other parties. This will help balance a focus on jurisdictionally specific challenges seen in a range of submissions last time proposals were sought.
Table 32: Infrastructure Australia's Strategic Priorities (SP)
| SP1 Expand Australia's productive capacity | SP2 Increase Australia's productivity | SP3 Diversify Australia's economic capabilities | SP4 Build on Australia's global competitive advantages | SP5 Develop our cities and/or regions | SP 6 Reduce green-house emissions | SP7 Improve social equity, and quality of life |
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5 See Infrastructure Australia's Report to Council of Australian Governments, December 2008, p. 8.