National priorities, state projects: Australia’s new machinery of government
L–R: David Webster, Phil Davies, David Quinn, Jim Betts, Jonathan Kennedy
Chair: Jonathan Kennedy, Executive Director – Policy and Strategy, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia Panellists: • Jim Betts, Chief Executive, Infrastructure NSW • Phil Davies, Chief Executive, Infrastructure Australia • David Quinn, Chief Executive, Building Queensland • David Webster, Deputy Secretary – Commercial, Department of Treasury and Finance (Victoria)
Key points: • The creation of the ‘I-bodies’ across national and major state governments creates the beginnings of better cooperation between jurisdictions. • The independence of these agencies means they can engage the public on complex and potentially unpopular longer-term changes, to enable better infrastructure services. • There is an important role in deepening the sophistication of project assessment tools. • The need to evolve procurement and service delivery models will test the depth and reach of skills in the public sector.
The creation of independent infrastructure agencies at the federal and state level is driving expectation of improved project selection and prioritisation through enhanced assessment. 100
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Volume 6 Number 1
Jonathan Kennedy (JK): As we have heard from today’s proceedings, there is now a very palpable sense of expectation in the sector and the wider community about the outlook for project selection and prioritisation, and arguably for infrastructure reform more broadly. The creation of independent agencies both at the federal level and the state level has clearly been the key driver of this expectation. In this context, what are the levers that the independent agencies have at their disposal, in terms of actually delivering community expectation? How do you, as agencies, respond if governments take a different view? Jim, as the longest-serving Chief Executive on the panel, I will ask you to go first.
