3.3  Informed public debate is essential

Public discussion on infrastructure is largely dominated by debates about specific projects, rather than about policy or strategy. Advocates of particular projects seek to promote their views, while opponents of those same projects do likewise.

Discussion about infrastructure strategy (i.e. what we are trying to achieve, what problems we seek to solve, and how we might solve them) needs to be encouraged. Such discussions are fundamental if debate about particular projects is to have any context.

Informed discussion about prospective infrastructure funding challenges facing the nation occurs far too rarely. There must be more public debate (involving local communities, government and industry) about the reforms that will be needed if Australia is to maintain its living standards during a period of large population growth and economic uncertainty. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the transport sector.

Unless these debates are brought into the open, there is a real risk that Australians will fail to grasp some of the key choices that need to be made if their quality-of-life is to be assured. Instead of a strategically focused and informed discourse about where the country wants to head, and the role that infrastructure can play in supporting those aspirations, infrastructure debate will continue to be project-focused.

The result is likely to be a slow 'drift' in decision making, leading to future disappointment and a realisation that Australia had the opportunity to chart a different course and failed to do so.

Infrastructure Australia will focus on raising debate on these critical matters over the coming years.