Successful infrastructure projects happen when the Government and industry collaborate well with each other, says Australian building expert Romilly Madew.
Madew, a former head of Infrastructure Australia, visited Queenstown recently to speak at Infrastructure NZ’s Building Smarter Symposium about challenges in the sector.
Speaking to Q+A, she said New Zealand and Australia both face similar infrastructure challenges — issues with capacity and capability, like a shortage of skilled workers, and “very poor” productivity.
When asked what Australia does better than New Zealand, Madew said engagement between industry and the Government.
She praised public-private partnerships (PPPs), which were very common in Australia.
PPPs use a private sector partner to finance and build a facility or asset, operates it to provide the service and usually transfers control of it to the public sector at the end of a contract. Transmission Gully near Wellington was the first time a major road infrastructure project in New Zealand used a PPP funding arrangement.
Maddew said: “We’re all struggling for funding for our infrastructure projects. We have to be very open-minded at where the best place to get the funding is from.
“And if PPPs are set up correctly, and again, it comes around to governance, I think they’re a very valuable tool to use.”
She talked about the need for the Australian government to have scrapped 50 infrastructure projects worth around AU$30 billion late last year.
“It was the right thing to do. Australia couldn’t cope,” Madew said, noting a lack of staff and bad timing.
Postponing projects to build what was needed now was “critically important”. Climate change considerations had also moved “incredibly quickly” in Australia, she added.
The Environmentally Sustainable Procurement Policy takes effect in July, meaning the Australian government will buy products that minimise greenhouse gas emissions and are safe for the environment.
Madew is also a sustainability expert — she headed Australia’s Green Building Council for 13 years and was honoured by the Australian government for her work promoting more sustainable construction. She is currently the chief executive of Engineers Australia.
Earlier this year, Infrastructure Minister Chris Bishop said the Government would consider a variety of funding models, including PPPs, road tolls, congestion charges and levies.
New Zealand has a $200 billion infrastructure deficit, according to some estimates, while Australia’s sits around $400 billion – despite having a population over five times larger.
Bishop has previously said New Zealand’s infrastructure deficit was a major drag on economic performance. He wants a National Infrastructure Agency and a 30-year pipeline of projects up and running by 2025.
Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air