Coronavirus: Bridges and roads hailed as the path to recovery

Infrastructure Partnerships Australia has urged governments to launch a new wave of maintenance and smaller capital projects to help power a ­recovery.

The new bridge being built in Grafton, northern NSW.

Scott Morrison has said he wants “more bridges built” and “more roads fixed”, as the nation’s leading infrastructure think tank urged all levels of government to launch a new wave of maintenance and smaller capital projects to help power a post-COVID-19 ­recovery.

The construction sector has been one of the few areas of the economy left relatively unscathed by social isolation restrictions. State regulations have been eased to allow builders to spread shift hours and help workers maintain social-distancing requirements while minimising delays.

“I want to see more roads built, more bridges built, more roads fixed,” the Prime Minister said on Thursday. “I want to see those things done now because they can be done in a COVID economy.”

In an open letter to all levels of government, Infrastructure Partnerships Australia said “the significant growth of the infra­structure pipeline in recent years and the accompanying development of the sector’s capacity mean the sector is well placed to provide support during and after the COVID-19 crisis”.

The independent policy research body recommended policymakers “take steps now to support recovery efforts and, importantly, place Australia in a strong economic position on the other side”.

IPA said there was a “broad consensus” within the sector that smaller-scale projects, such as maintenance work on social housing, upgrading access to train stations and replacing level crossings, could be deployed “within months”.

“Putting a foot on the pedal now wins the recovery in a few months,” IPA chief executive Adrian Dwyer said.

Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack in early March asked state and territory transport and infrastructure ministers to prepare lists of potential projects that could be implemented or ­accelerated.

He told The Australian the health crisis added urgency to the government’s $100bn, 10-year infrastructure plan.

“We are looking at where we can fast-track delivery on construction to create jobs and provide a boost to the economy at this critical time,” he said.

Mr Dwyer said there was already a “pretty strong infrastructure agenda”, but the key message from the industry was that “we can’t take the foot off the pedal in terms of existing commitments”.“

Retaining the pipeline was crucial to keep people on the ground and employed, he said.

Mr Morrison flagged there was an understanding that in the eventual wake of the health crisis, and in the context of the intervention by government to cushion its impact, “we are going to have economic policy measures that are very pro-growth”.

“We must see a revitalisation of the private economy,” he said.

Mr Morrison said the advice from Reserve Bank governor ­Philip Lowe to Thursday’s national cabinet meeting was “if we thought we could just grow the economy under the old settings, then we need to think again”.