Regions suffer as cost of infrastructure soars

Infrastructure Australia forecasts a shortfall of about 105,000 workers to deliver the national projects pipeline.

“What that means for regional areas in particular is that those challenges multiply with the demand. The pool for those skills and materials is very localised in our fast-growing cities, especially on the east coast, where there are infrastructure investments around some of the mega-transport projects being delivered.

“And that pulls skills and materials from regional areas.”

Five common shortcomings

The report being released on Thursday shows five common shortcomings across 48 regions of the country, excluding Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

The availability, diversity and affordability of housing is not meeting the demands of regional communities. It remains a major constraint in attracting and retaining skilled workers, growing regional productivity and maintaining liveability.

Water security does not meet fundamental residential and commercial requirements.

Broadband and mobile connectivity is highlighted as an enduring concern across many communities, despite it being crucial, including during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Access to further education and skills training and the capacity, connectivity and quality of public transport infrastructure also remain as significant gaps in the regions.

Key existing assets are also identified, including 45 regions with significant natural environment, 33 with gateway ports, 26 with resources and 23 with transport infrastructure.

The report calls for greater proactive planning by all levels of government and major projects to be community-led.

Lawrie McKinna, Regional Development Australia’s Central Coast chairman, said the report was correct to highlight housing and education challenges in the major NSW growth region.

“We are definitely behind in social housing,” he said. “We have the lowest rate in Australia of people with university degrees and tertiary education.

“We have had a boom in house prices, which doesn’t make it easy for the social housing challenge. It’s a bit of a catch-22.

“A lot of people want to come here and there’s a big demand because prices compared to Sydney are cheaper, including for families.”

Mr McKinna said major infrastructure projects including the NorthConnex tunnel had helped shift the region’s focus.

“We need to do better, and I think the politicians and everybody involved know that as well,” he said.

Infrastructure Australia’s chief of policy and research, Peter Colacino, said blue-collar workers in the regions were in high demand.

“That’s something that we identified through the market capacity [research], but also there is reduced mobility in those professions, both in terms of accreditation across state boundaries and the desire of people to stay in their community.”

The report is designed to encourage governments, industry and the community to propose solutions to close the infrastructure gaps, through the annual national infrastructure priority list.