24th May 2023, 11:45 AM – Representatives Infrastructure Australia Amendment (Independent Review) Bill 2023 - Consideration in Detail - Transparency

The majority voted in favour of disagreeing with amendments introduced by Fowler MP Dai Le (Independent), which means they failed.

What do these amendments do?

Ms Le explained that:

Amendment (3) ensures that there is a reporting mechanism for the minister to announce a major funding commitment to a project that is not listed as a priority on the Infrastructure Australia website. As I stated during the 2019 federal campaign, only one of the coalition's 71 transport promises valued at $100 million or more had a business case approved by Infrastructure Australia. For Labor it was two out of 61 projects, according to the Grattan Institute. The minister's written response must be publicly available and tabled in parliament to ensure complete transparency.

Similarly, under amendment (4), the government must formally and publicly respond to Infrastructure Australia's key advice and findings within 12 months. Initially, it was recommended that this should be a six-month period by an independent review into Infrastructure Australia; however, after discussions with the minister's office, I understand that this may be a burden, given the huge number of findings and recommendations they must receive. So I ask you to consider conducting this response within a 12-month period. It's worth noting that this independent review into Infrastructure Australia was led by Nicole Lockwood and Mike Mrdak. They have had substantial experience in Infrastructure Western Australia and in the department of infrastructure.

Amendment (8) will compel any commissioners or advisory council members to publicly disclose whether they were or are part of a major political party or affiliated with a political party, such as if they were part of the executive of certain lobby groups or trade unions. While this doesn't stop people with vested interests from being on the commission or advisory council, it gives the public the opportunity to know who is making certain infrastructure decisions. We owe our constituents that much.

Amendment (9) seeks to legislate some aspects of the advisory council. Given they will be advising on massive infrastructure funding projects worth over $250 million, we want to ensure that there is integrity within these appointments, and they must have the relevant expertise for such funding decisions, particularly if it impacts so many communities across Australia who are in desperate need of new roads and public transport links. We all pay taxes, we all need roads and we all need public transport. We must focus on the priority areas and communities that are in dire need first.

Amendment text

See OpenAustralia.org.au for amendment text.