The National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA) welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the Senate inquiry into financial support for state and territory infrastructure projects.
Growth areas, 29 local government areas (LGAs) located in outer regions of Australia’s five largest capital cities, are home to over 5.8 million people nationally, including one in four Australian children. Growth areas councils, which represent only 5% of all Australian LGAs, already grappling with the challenges of rapid population growth, are expected to deliver over 300,000 new dwellings in greenfield developments to meet more than a quarter of the National Housing Accord targets, but without commensurate infrastructure.
Growth area LGAs are not only central to Australia’s housing supply, but will determine Australia’s future productivity, sustainability and resilience. Yet residents consistently face significant inequities in access to essential infrastructure compared to established suburbs, impacting liveability, social cohesion, health, and opportunity.
Infrastructure deficits experienced by communities in growth areas are the direct result of Australia’s current infrastructure funding system, which is fragmented, inconsistent, and often poorly coordinated across sectors and tiers of government.
What is required for growth areas is a shift from a narrow focus on sector-specific projects to achieving national priorities through a broader place-based approach to infrastructure investment, aligned with a long-term settlement strategy and informed by local communities
