2008 VICTORIA’S PROJECT PRIORITISATION SUBMISSION TO INFRASTRUCTURE AUSTRALIA Published by State of Victoria www.vic.gov.au © State Government of Victoria 31 October 2008 Authorised by the Victorian Government, Melbourne. Printed by Impact Digital, Units 3-4 306 Albert Street, Brunswick VIC 3056. This publication is copyright. No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the Provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 2 CONTENTS 1. Introduction 2 2. Victoria Supports the Commonwealth’s Five Key 4 Platforms for Productivity Growth 3. Victoria’s Leading Role in the National Economy 6 4. Transport Challenge Facing Victoria 8 5. Victoria’s Record in Regulatory and Investment Reform 12 6. Victoria’s Strategic Priority Project Packages 14 7. Linkages Table 28 8. Indicative Construction Sequencing 30 Victoria’s Project Prioritisation Submission to Infrastructure Australia 1 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 AUDIT SUBMISSION These projects will help build Victoria lodged its submission to the National Infrastructure Audit with Infrastructure a stronger, more resilient, and Australia (IA) on 30 June 2008. The Audit Submission provided a strategic overview of sustainable national economy, Victoria’s infrastructure needs in the areas of land transport, water, sea ports, airports, energy and telecommunications. It detailed the key infrastructure bottlenecks and able to capture new trade constraints that need to be addressed to optimise Victoria’s and Australia’s future opportunities and reduce productivity growth. greenhouse gas emissions. Following the lodgement of Victoria’s submission, IA wrote to all States and Territories requesting further input on ‘Problem and Solution Assessment.’ In response to this request, the Victorian Government gave IA offi cials a detailed briefi ng and background paper in September 2008. This included a site visit by the Infrastructure Coordinator, IA, to the Green Triangle Region – one of Victoria’s regions experiencing unprecedented freight growth in new export commodity industries. 1.2 THE CURRENT SUBMISSION IA has sought further information from States and Territories to enable IA to prioritise projects for the National Infrastructure Priority List. Victoria’s Audit submission illustrated that the most urgent priority for infrastructure investment lay in the transport sector. This need is refl ected in the priority projects provided in this submission. Victoria has immediate, medium- and long-term priority projects eligible for funding via the Building Australia Fund. This pipeline aligns with the strategic priorities of IA and the Victorian Transport Plan. It is based on maximising the use of the State’s transport assets through ongoing regulatory reform, operational effi ciencies, innovation, pricing initiatives and demand management. This sequence of projects will enable Victoria’s transport system to be strengthened in line with economic and population growth to 2020 and beyond. These projects will help build a stronger, more resilient, and sustainable national economy, able to capture new trade opportunities and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These projects will do this by: • managing urban congestion in Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, and around the Port of Melbourne, Australia’s biggest container port; • building national economic capacity in industries that are Victoria’s competitive strengths; • improving the performance of Australia’s open supply chains on the eastern seaboard; • increasing the capacity and competitiveness of the eastern seaboard network of container ports; 2 • enhancing Australia’s trade performance by capturing new export opportunities for commodity industries; • fostering economic clusters in Melbourne and regional cities that are logistics hubs, knowledge and innovation precincts and new centres of employment; and • facilitating national micro-economic reform and business deregulation. These projects will be delivered as fi ve key packages: 1. Melbourne Metro Package – the planned transition over the immediate, medium and long term of Melbourne’s rail system to a metro-style transit system, with progressive enhancements to the effi ciency and resilience of Melbourne’s train services, particularly in the rail corridors that support the city’s western, northern and south-eastern suburbs. 2. West Gate Alternative and Truck Action Plan Package – the provision of new and improved roads infrastructure to support our critical cross-town and freight routes. 3. National Ports and Rail Connection Package – a long-term plan to manage the growth in Victoria’s freight task, improving the effi ciency and sustainability of our supply chains while protecting the amenity and liveability of our cities and towns, particularly in Melbourne’s inner western suburbs. 4. Regional Development Package – a plan to enhance public transport in regional Victoria and to build targeted infrastructure to support regional freight, industrial growth and new jobs. 5. Melbourne Orbital Package – a staged plan to complete Melbourne’s orbital network (fi lling in the missing links in the city’s north-east and south-east), and to improve connections between industrial precincts and national freight corridors. The rate at which some projects can be delivered will depend on the level of Commonwealth infrastructure funding. Victoria has therefore developed a logical sequencing of projects, which will be updated as part of the annual infrastructure audit reviews proposed by IA. Victoria’s Project Prioritisation Submission to Infrastructure Australia 3 2. VICTORIA SUPPORTS THE COMMONWEALTH’S FIVE KEY PLATFORMS FOR PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH The Prime Minister has committed the Commonwealth Government to enhancing The Victorian Government national productivity growth and Australia’s long-term prosperity by investing in fi ve key has long recognised platforms – education, infrastructure, innovation, business deregulation and taxation reform. the need to improve the Victoria welcomes the Commonwealth Government’s leadership in this nation-building productive capacity of the agenda. Victoria’s key policy frameworks align with these priorities. Australian economy. For example, since 2002, Victoria has developed comprehensive policy strategies for: • improving economic development (Victoria: Leading The Way); • enhancing workforce skills and participation (Securing Jobs for Your Future – Skills for Victoria); • agricultural investment (Future Farming); • regional development (Moving Forward); • promoting innovation (Innovation: Victoria’s Future); and • integrated land use and transport planning (Melbourne 2030). The Victorian Transport Plan – and Victoria’s IA priority projects – will build on this approach, by delivering strategic enhancements to the transport network that will drive productivity and strengthen national supply chains. 2.1 THE NATIONAL REFORM AGENDA The Victorian Government has long recognised the need to improve the productive capacity of the Australian economy. In 2005, Victoria developed the National Reform Agenda (NRA) to direct attention to the key areas for Government investment and reform to improve productivity and workforce participation. The central focus of the NRA was recognising that building the competitiveness of our businesses, as well as a new focus on building our human capital, is critical to strengthening the Australian economy. Key planks of the initiative included: • further developing the competitiveness of Australian business – including building world-class economic infrastructure – to help our businesses participate and succeed in a global economy; • removing disincentives and barriers to labour force participation; and • providing effi cient use of our infrastructure, which is critical to sustaining our competitive position in the global economy. Through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG), all Australian Governments have committed to progress the reform work program to increase productivity, address infl ationary pressures and deliver better outcomes to the Australian community. Infrastructure investment is critical to achieving these reforms and developing the capacity and ability of Australian businesses to compete in a global environment. 4 Victoria has led the COAG For instance, better transport connections will enable greater mobility and access to services, while fi t-for-purpose infrastructure can help reduce the cost of doing business, and thus improve agenda on a new wave of business competitiveness. In addition, infrastructure investment can support employment productivity and social markets by providing a pipeline of projects that utilise and develop the Australian workforce. capital reforms. This document is a continuation of these reforms, and further underlines Victoria’s emphasis upon the importance of national productivity improvements. The proposals in this submission underscore Victoria’s commitment to that reform, and the Victorian Government commends the independent process the Commonwealth has established with IA for the preparation of the Infrastructure Priority List. As noted above, Victoria considers itself to be a leader in the national arena on productivity reform, and looks forward to progressing this important issue. 2.2 REGULATORY REFORM – TRANSPORT In the transport sector, regulatory and pricing reform are key factors in unlocking increased productive capacity in infrastructure networks. Victoria has a strong record in implementing national regulatory reform packages. For example, 99% of the state’s arterial road network