New benchmark set for project transparency and accountability
30 July 2018
Federal Government: New
guidelines to drive greater transparency and accountability in
infrastructure decision-making and reduce instances of
major projects
receiving funding before appropriate planning and assessment have been
released today by
Infrastructure Australia, the nation's independent
infrastructure advisor.
Developed by Infrastructure Australia out of a recommendation in the
2016 Australian Infrastructure Plan,
the Infrastructure Decision-making Principles
are designed to ensure major public infrastructure investments deliver
the best outcomes for the community and the best value for taxpayers.
“The Australian Infrastructure Plan acknowledged that Australia's
governments and the community would benefit from a set of clear
principles to provide a benchmark for high-quality infrastructure
decision making,” said Infrastructure Australia Chief Executive, Philip
Davies.
“While the Infrastructure Priority List has helped create a credible
pipeline of future
infrastructure investments, too often we are still
seeing instances of projects being committed to before a
business case
has been prepared, a full set of options have been considered, and
rigorous analysis of a potential project's benefits and costs has been
undertaken.
“Ultimately, we want to ensure that community needs are properly
understood, all options considered and communities consulted before
projects are committed. This should include making better use of
existing infrastructure by deploying new technologies or utilising the
data we're already collecting.
“The Infrastructure Decision-making Principles should act as a guide for
Australia's governments, establishing clear lines of responsibility and
accountability for major infrastructure projects and providing the
broader community with a clear set of expectations with which to hold
decision makers to account.
“We want to see Australia's governments do more to engage with
communities, both in communicating long-term infrastructure plans,
problem identification and by incorporating community input in a
meaningful way into the project development processes.
“Part of this involves being more transparent around project
decision-making by publicly releasing the analysis and processes that
form the basis of funding decisions.
“Many of these principles are already embedded in Infrastructure
Australia's broader approach to providing infrastructure advice, as well
as our Assessment Framework, which
guides the assessment of nationally significant infrastructure
priorities and provides advice to project proponents in preparing their
submissions.
“The scale of investment in major projects and the long life of most
infrastructure assets warrants rigorous decision-making processes. Our
hope is that Australia's governments embrace these Infrastructure
Decision-making Principles and give the community added confidence that
decisions on public infrastructure projects are robust, transparent and
accountable,” Mr Davies said.
The Infrastructure Decision-making Principles, http://infrastructureaustralia.gov.au/policy-publications/publications/infrastructure-decision-making-principles.aspx
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Source: Australian Government - www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au
Contact: N/A
External Links: www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au.
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