The Australian Government this week welcomed the release of Infrastructure Australia's 15-year Australian Infrastructure Plan, which highlighted the important role of local government in boosting freight productivity to enable more efficient movement of freight and remove first and last mile constraints across the national freight network.
The Australian Infrastructure Plan was developed following consultation on the Australian Infrastructure Audit report. The report encouraged all levels of government to support strategic investments and deliver productivity-enhancing reforms, noting that most changes will be required at the state, territory and local government levels. The report particularly stated that local government should play a role in the proposed National Freight and Supply Chain Strategy as the tier of government that controls local infrastructure access and facilities.
ALGA agrees with the report's outlook of inter-governmental collaboration to improve the productivity of our national infrastructure, and careful consideration will be given to this and other recommendations that touch on Local Government issues.
Infrastructure Australia will update the plan at least every five years. For more information and to download the plan, go to the Infrastructure Australia website.