infrastructure, infrastructure partnerships australia, roads,
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Infrastructure Partnerships Australia unveils ‘Completing Road Reform’ report to map out how Federal, state and territory governments can ensure a pathway to fairer road funding.
Industry think tank Infrastructure Partnerships Australia has unveiled a new report mapping out how the Federal, state and territory governments can navigate a pathway forward together to ensure all motorists in Australia pay their fair share to build and maintain roads.
“Since our initial proposal in 2019 for a distance-based road user charge on vehicles that don’t pay fuel excise, significant shifts have reshaped the landscape,” says Adrian Dwyer, Chief Executive of Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.
“While the context has evolved, the policy case has only strengthened – we can’t submit to a future where some users pay while others don’t.
“Victoria’s pioneering step in 2021 towards rational pricing for zero- and low-emissions vehicles road use showed that change was possible, and the sky didn’t fall in.
“Electric vehicles continued to be sold, privacy wasn’t breached, and households coped. Indeed, the only real change was that the system took real steps towards fairness and sustainability.
“While the recent High Court of Australia ruling found that this charge was an excise, and therefore in the preserve of the Federal Government, this decision has created a detour – not a roadblock – on the road to reform.
“The central case for road user charging remains crystal clear: it is the most effective means to secure long-term funding for our roads. The question is not ‘if’ or ‘why’, but ‘who’ and ‘how’.
“Ultimately, most taxpayers don’t care which level of government handles the charges they pay for road use – they just want good quality roads and transport services, and for the charging system to be user friendly.
”Infrastructure Partnerships Australia is calling on both levels of government to develop a process which finishes the work Victoria and others started. The longer we wait to resolve this, the bigger the general tax bill will be for everyone, and the more inequitable our funding system becomes.
Infrastructure Partnerships Australia is the nation’s industry think tank providing independent policy research focused on excellence in social and economic infrastructure.
Click here to read the report.
Source: Infrastructure Partnerships Australia
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