Property Council welcomes Victoria infrastructure strategy

The Property Council of Australia has welcomed Victoria’s recently announced infrastructure strategy.

Conceived with the socioeconomic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic in mind, the strategy was presented to the state’s parliament earlier this week and contains 94 recommendations from an independent advisory body guided by nine regional profiles that outlined various regional needs.

“The pandemic has changed the way we live and work and get around, and some of these changes will stay long after the crisis has passed,” said Danni Hunter, Victorian executive director at the Property Council. “Infrastructure Victoria’s strategy will guide the discussion, debate, and policy decisions necessary to determine what the coming decades of growth will look like for Victoria.”

With their strategy, Infrastructure Victoria said it is focusing on “confronting long-term challenges, managing urban change, harnessing infrastructure for productivity and growth, and developing regional Victoria.”

The recommendations include:

• Energy transition that includes mandating home energy disclosure ratings, upping minimum efficiency standards, and ensuring a comprehensive gas transition;
• Integration of land use in infrastructure planning that enables local government and stakeholders to have greater construction oversight;
• Social and affordable housing that goes beyond the “Big Housing Build” program;
• Infrastructure contributions system that reforms the Open Space Contributions Scheme and empowers a body to monitor infrastructure delivery in growing communities; and
• Freight infrastructure that moves more freight by rail and makes quick progress on the intermodal freight terminal development.

The Property Council said it expects to respond to the strategy within twelve months.

“The strategy contains sensible recommendations that recognise the government’s already large infrastructure delivery pipeline, as well as the financial constraints caused by the pandemic, ensuring a focus on using what we have in a smarter and more effective way,” Hunter said.