In Australia the early PPP research focused on explaining to policy makers the governance issues and technical aspects of this nascent market. On the other hand, PPPs have also been associated with (or seen as a proxy for) privatisation programs (Hodge, 2005) that encourage private providers to supply public services at the expense of public organisations themselves (Hodge, 2007).
The Fitzgerald Report (Fitzgerald, 2004) reviewed the Partnerships Victoria process for the Victorian Treasurer. The report investigated 8 case studies of PPP projects that had been undertaken within the ambit of the Partnerships Victoria framework since its inception in 2000. Fitzgerald reported that at the time they were entered into, on a weighted average, and using the then prevailing discount rate, the saving attributed to the PPPs was 9 percent relative to the respective risk-adjusted Public Sector Comparators (PSCs). However, it was noted that this ex ante estimate of the benefit was sensitive to the discount rate applied and factors such as the valuation of the risk transfer achieved in the contracts. Hence, it was not an analysis of what was actually achieved by PPPs as opposed to Traditional procurement approaches.
There have been several case studies or sectoral analyses of PPPs, including:
• English (2005) - case study of the Latrobe Hospital;
• Brown (2005) -analysis of a number of toll road agreements; and
• Hodge (2005, p.319-323) -review of the Melbourne City Link and Sydney's M2 Road.
In general, it can be said that Australian research has tended to focus on non-empirical methods that often discuss case studies in relation to aspects of PPP contracting or operation.4 Scant quantitative research has focused on the linkages between concepts of procurement innovation, public interest, risk and what has actually been delivered to the Australian public. As noted by Hodge (2005, p.323), 'there has been no comprehensive evaluation of Australia's PPPs thus far'.
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4 For Example, see Karen Brown (June, 2005)