The Tourism & Transport Forum has welcomed the release today of a new policy paper from Infrastructure Australia’s (IA) calling on governments across Australia to prioritise the protection of key infrastructure corridors.

TTF Chief Executive, Margy Osmond, said the paper, Corridor Protection: Planning and investing for the long term, highlighted the urgent need for governments to embrace a long-term vision to meet Australia’s future infrastructure challenges.

“It is fair to say that long-term infrastructure planning and corridor preservation has at times been quite poor,” Ms Osmond said.

“IA’s paper is a timely reminder that the longer governments delay in committing to securing corridors to support future infrastructure projects, the more likely we are to see cost blow-outs, unnecessary delays and communities adversely impacted across the country.

“The report highlights the significant savings that s governments across Australia can take to the bank by thinking long-term and adopting a strategic approach to corridor preservation.

“The massive $11 billion in savings identified by Infrastructure Australia through the early acquisition of just seven high-priority infrastructure corridors should be a wake-up call to governments across Australia, whose vision unfortunately sometimes rarely extends past the next election.

“With an additional $11 billion in the back pocket, governments would have a golden ticket to reinvest in transformational infrastructure projects that will set our nation up for the future.

“With Australia’s population set to skyrocket over the next few decades, and congestion in many areas rapidly reaching critical levels, we need to get our planning right, and bite the bullet early by preserving strategic corridors.”