Fast tracking fast rail: release of transport connectivity report

THE House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities has today presented its report, Harnessing Value, Delivering Infrastructure, on the role of transport connectivity in stimulating development and economic activity in urban areas and regional Australia.

The Committee has recommended development of value capture mechanisms as a means of funding new transport infrastructure and the development of high speed rail to facilitate new patterns of settlement in Australia.

Committee Chair Mr John Alexander MP says the effective planning and development of transport infrastructure in our major cities and regions would optimise not just our potential for growth but also quality of life and cost of housing.

“We should give effect to urban renewal and densification while rebalancing the pattern of settlement through strategic decentralisation,” Mr Alexander says. “The key to this is high speed rail funded by value capture.”

The Committee has also recommended:

• developing a framework for the specification and evaluation of proposals for the development of a High Speed Rail Network in Eastern Australia
• investigating options for private funding of High Speed Rail through value capture
• the monitoring and investigation of other technological innovations for transport connectivity
• recognising the potential contribution towards the costs of new transport infrastructure of value capture
• developing a system for coordinating the planning and funding of major infrastructure projects across all levels of government
• coordinated procurement of vehicles and rolling stock for transport infrastructure
• establishing value capture mechanisms for individual transport infrastructure projects as a condition of federal funding
• developing a toolkit of value capture mechanisms that can be applied by all levels of government
• continued roll-out of City Deal-type agreements with the various state, territory and local governments
• developing a consistent and coordinated approach to the application of value-capture to major infrastructure projects, with the Australian Government acting as the single-point for the collection of value capture revenues.

A copy of the report can be obtained from the Committee’s website or from the secretariat on (02) 6277 2352.

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