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The federal government’s new National Infrastructure Priority List is expected to negatively impact the outer suburbs of Brisbane and Sydney, depriving them of essential infrastructure development.
The National Priority List is essentially a pipeline of projects the federal government considers key to strengthening the economy, dealing with the challenges of sustainable population growth, export bottlenecks, urban congestion and climate change.
The projects on the list are rigorously assessed as having real merit or significant potential.
According to Urban Taskforce chief executive Aaron Gadie, the new infrastructure list will introduce new funding criteria discriminating against urban communities on the edge of Australia's cities.
Mr Gadiel said under the new list, no Sydney or Brisbane urban infrastructure projects are identified as "ready to proceed".
"The highest rated Sydney project is the South West Rail Link, but even that's not regarded as 'ready to proceed', despite the fact that the project is already underway," Mr Gadiel said.
“The Sydney and Brisbane public transport systems are yet to be funded by the federal government, despite the generous assistance extended to other state capitals.
"This list will be a great disappointment to Sydneysiders and Brisbanites.”
While the Urban Taskforce had expected that projects and Sydney and Brisbane would win the support of Infrastructure Australia as a result of the government’s $4.5 billion allocation to projects nationally, this has not been the case.
"We hope the Prime Minister intervenes and overturns these new rules," Mr Gadiel said.
"It's crucial that infrastructure servicing new suburbs at the edge of cities be supported, as well as the infrastructure vital to creating compact, pedestrian friendly residential communities in the inner and middle ring suburbs of cities," said.
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