Langoulant to chair Infrastructure WA

Business groups have welcomed a bill introduced by the state government today to establish the advisory body Infrastructure WA. 

If passed, the bill will make Infrastructure WA a statutory authority to advise the government on the state’s development needs and priorities.

Perth business leader and company director John Langoulant has been appointed as the Infrastructure WA chair-designate to assist with the establishment and early operation of the body.

Infrastructure WA’s immediate task will be to develop a 20-year state infrastructure strategy to identify long-term infrastructure requirements and recommend significant projects and programs to meet those needs.

Other roles the authority will undertake include: assessing and reporting on major government infrastructure proposals before investment decisions are made; providing advice on infrastructure priorities; funding and financing options; and coordinating the state’s submissions to Infrastructure Australia.

Premier Mark McGowan said previous governments had been too short-sighted, which had led to poor decision making and resulted in costly project delays or cancellations.

“IWA will change how we plan and deliver infrastructure and will set our state up for the long term,” he said.

“For years, business and industry have been calling for a long-term infrastructure strategy, that’s why the immediate priority for IWA will be to develop a 20-year plan.”

Deputy opposition leader and shadow planning minister Liza Harvey said without any obligation on the government to adhere to its recommendations, Infrastructure WA would be a costly, sprawling, toothless bureaucracy.

“The premier was wishy washy today when questioned whether IWA would review the recommendations of the Westport Taskforce in the context of the infrastructure needs of the whole of WA,” she said.

“IWA looks to be a missed opportunity for an independent review body to assess the existing infrastructure commitments and future infrastructure needs of WA.

“Instead, we have a pre-neutered body that the premier admits will have no influence over the decisions of his government.”

Urban Development Institute of Australia WA chief executive Tanya Steinbeck welcomed the decision, saying WA had fallen short in securing a fair share of federal infrastructure funding compared with other states in the past.

“This is partly due to the lack of forward planning and coordination in our dealings with Infrastructure Australia,” Ms Steinbeck said.

“We hope that IWA will provide the leadership necessary for WA to gain more traction with Infrastructure Australia, and in turn, secure much needed increased federal infrastructure funding.

“As we saw just last week when Infrastructure Australia released its priority infrastructure list, WA had just one project on the high priority projects list and only two on the priority projects list.

“That is compared with six high priority projects in NSW and Victoria.”

Master Builders Association of WA executive director John Gelavis said the new authority would provide better forward planning for major projects, prioritising them based on merit and best outcome for the taxpayer and avoiding expensive delays and cancellations.

“Putting a tender together for large infrastructure and capital works projects like hospitals, highways, railways or bridges is costly for construction companies and consumes significant time and effort,” he said.

“If a project is suddenly scrapped, or deferred indefinitely, those costs are a burden on industry.

“Infrastructure WA will provide the necessary certainty that the job is a priority and will go ahead in the medium to long term plan, which allows the construction industry to be proactive in getting prepared.

“This also allows industry to plan ahead on the jobs and skills which will be required on infrastructure projects, meaning industry can prepare the skills base for these projects in conjunction with the Department of Training and Workforce Development.”

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of WA also supported the bill and said it would provide transparency and certainty to industry around the government’s projects and their timing.

An expression of interest will be released in coming months to select the Infrastructure WA board members.