The federal treasurer’ announcement of major capital spending on more transport infrastructure projects was criticised correctly by Marion Terrill (The Age Tuesday 29 March) because they were not supported by a business case. But one should also ask where is the plan, how do these projects fit within it and perhaps even more fundamentally what is the future that the plan is based on?
These are fundamental questions that should be addressed in any investment appraisal – it is simply a matter of proper process which is often thrown out the window at election time. It is the last question ie the future we must plan for that is of most concern because it is rarely addressed with the rigor it deserves and is invariably based on business as usual scenarios.
Extreme weather events that have occurred over the last decade which are being repeated with increasing severity and frequency should remind all policy planners and governments that the world we must plan and design infrastructure for is rapidly changing. The future will not be business as usual and infrastructure projects progressed on this basis carry a risk of quickly becoming redundant. In this scenario we will soon be left with a lot of stranded assets (or remnants of stranded assets) and a mountain of debt that should have been spent on other areas of real need.