Politics, finance and transport – Megaprojects in Australia

This paper reviews the funding and delivery of transport infrastructure projects in Australia at the macroand micro-(project) level. At the macro-level it identifies that Australia’s transport infrastructure is rated low in international comparisons, despite funding levels that have varied from average to high. At the micro-(project) level the paper examines a sample of Australian projects to test whether cost and demand risks have been well controlled. It finds that overall cost risks have been well controlled, with lower cost overruns than other OECD countries. Demand risks have been poorly controlled for public private partnership (PPP) projects, which have greater forecasting errors than other projects by a significant margin. In conclusion reforms are proposed for the decision making, assessment and delivery processes for transport projects to increase transparency, independence and consistency. A statutory national infrastructure body with decision making powers is recommended.