Today’s infrastructure announcement by the Federal Government will support Western Australian jobs by accelerating priority road, rail and resources projects. It also takes steps to address the longstanding issue of administrative delay by streamlining State and Commonwealth Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act processes for major projects.

The welcome announcement brings together two key recommendations of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA’s Recovery Reform Roadmap.

Today’s package takes the total funding for accelerated infrastructure projects to $9.3 billion nationally, and WA will have a share of the projected 66,000 jobs in construction and supply chain businesses they will support.

CCIWA has called for a long-term and consistent pipeline of infrastructure projects to ensure businesses can plan their investments, manage their workforce and retain critical specialised skills within our state. Globally competitive infrastructure will be an important component of WA’s recovery, supporting productivity and our ability to attract business investment.

Critically, and despite claims to the contrary, the fast tracking of approvals processes for major projects will not come at the expense of the environment. Overlapping and duplicative processes that take close to four years to complete, do not protect the environment — they just strangle investment and job creation.

Infrastructure investment builds upon payroll tax cuts, fee relief and regulatory reform to provide better conditions for WA’s economic revival. CCIWA looks forward to working further with the State and Federal Governments to continue to drive measures that support our economic recovery.

Aaron Morey

CCIWA Chief Economist