The state government is under attack for failing growth areas,
with a new report revealing it has no strategy for addressing
infrastructure gaps in Melbourne’s outer suburbs.
Auditor-General John Doyle’s report into transport infrastructure
and services in growth areas, which was released last Wednesday, found
that public transport and roads in areas such as Wyndham, Hume and
Whittlesea have been inadequately funded by successive state
governments.
The report said funding to address transport needs in growth areas often took “more than a generation to materialise”.
Mr Doyle’s findings are no surprise to growth-area councils, which
in February warned the government that a liveability gap was “creating
two Melbournes”.
The report found that $10 billion was required to address the
immediate infrastructure backlog, but that there was “no clear statewide
strategy for addressing the long-standing backlog of transport
infrastructure for established growth areas”.
“There is little assurance this backlog will be addressed or that
the emerging transport infrastructure needs of new growth areas will be
delivered when required,” the report stated.
“[There is also] little assurance that current statewide
investments in transport infrastructure are effectively targeted or
soundly based.”
The report criticised Public Transport Victoria, VicRoads and the
Growth Areas Authority (GAA) for failing to properly plan for the
delivery of infrastructure and services in growth areas.
Mr Doyle warned that the infrastructure lag would worsen as new
housing developments were approved by the GAA, urging the government and
its agencies to come up with innovative transport solutions and funding
options.
He called for transport projects to be funded on a needs basis.
GAA chief operating officer Paul Byrne said the organisation
acknowledged the recommendations and had already begun working to
address the key issues raised.
Transport Minister Terry Mulder blamed the former Labor government
for the shortage of transport infrastructure, and said the government
was “addressing this massive backlog”.
Asked how the government would
ensure the infrastructure backlog was addressed, Mr Mulder would only
say the government was on track to deliver a “comprehensive reform
agenda which would bolster the way infrastructure and services were
provided in Melbourne’s growth areas”.
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