A significant majority of Australians are confident that investment in infrastructure is critical in driving the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic recovery.
The Australian Perspectives on Infrastructure national survey, conducted by the ANU Institute for Infrastructure in Society was first to reveal what communities think about infrastructure, their trust in the government to deliver it, and how they are being engaged in Australia’s $290 billion infrastructure rollout.
The federal 2022-23 budget announcement last month indicated that an additional $17.9 billion will be invested in new infrastructure projects with a continued focus on infrastructure, mainly on road and rail projects.
The ANU research report signifies just how important these projects are to the Australian people in line with seeing things ‘return to normal’.
The report indicates that 71 per cent of those 3,500 Australians surveyed agree that infrastructure investment and delivery will play a key role in the nation’s recovery.
While 68 per cent also stated that projects should be fast-tracked if implementing them will lead to a quicker recovery for the nation.
The new government commitments and initiatives will support around 40,000 jobs over the lives of the projects, with around 120,000 jobs supported by projects underway as part of the government’s record infrastructure investment pipeline which has now been increased to $120 billion from $110 billion.
A further $501.7 million has been committed for the Local Roads and Community Infrastructure (LRCI) program, enabling every local council across Australia to stimulate local economies by delivering priority projects.
This highly successful program has supported an estimated 9,000 jobs and nearly 7,900 individual projects, and brings the total Commonwealth Government commitment to the LRCI Program to $3 billion.
The federal government is investing record amounts in infrastructure and regional development projects through the 2022-23 budget as part of a plan for a stronger future, wealthier Australia, to create tens of thousands of jobs and drive economic growth.
Written by Danaya Malenda