2016-04-29
Greens Australian Infrastructure Bank to deliver for Victoria
Victoria would be a big winner from the Greens announcement of a 2016 election policy to establish an Australian Infrastructure Bank.
“Victoria has been dudded on infrastructure for too long,” said Victorian Senator and the Australian Greens transport spokesperson Janet Rice.
“We hear a lot from Labor and the Coalition about depoliticising infrastructure spending, but there is still an overwhelming, systemic bias towards great big polluting toll roads.
“Building roads to ease congestion is like loosening your belt to cure obesity.
“The Australian Infrastructure Bank would deliver on the train, tram and bus projects that Melbourne desperately needs but have so far been ignored.
“Councils could package up a variety of small and middle-sized projects, build those projects and pay back the initial outlay over a long period of time using rates, providing a one-stop shop to make this process easy.
The Australian Infrastructure Bank would issue bonds to raise billions at record low interest rates. The bank would then grant or on-loan money to councils and state governments so they make Australia more resilient and prosperous. The Greens are prepared to increase the Australian Government’s investment in infrastructure by up to $75 billion over the next ten years. This will keep the consolidated government debt within a target range of 25% of GDP and borrowing costs below 2% of GDP.
“Having the backing of the federal government would make the finance cheaper, easier to access and more secure for councils,” said Senator Rice. “We need to stop being afraid of borrowing money to build the infrastructure that Victoria needs. If a project, large or small, has a good business case, let’s get on with it and finance it.
Examples of project that could bid for finance or equity include:
- Airport Rail
- Doncaster Rail
- upgrading antiquated signaling that would allow twice as many trains to use existing rail-lines.
Media contact: Sam Drummond 0400 352 935