24th May 2023, 10:46 AM – Representatives Infrastructure Australia Amendment (Independent Review) Bill 2023 - Consideration in Detail - Cost-benefit test

The majority voted in favour of disagreeing with amendments introduced by Wentworth MP Allegra Spender (Independent), which means they failed.

What do the amendments do?

Ms Spender explained that:

These amendments replicate an amendment moved by the Prime Minister as the shadow minister for infrastructure in 2014. My thinking and my goals are the same as the Prime Minister's thinking and goals were at that time. The goal is to ensure that the government only invests in infrastructure projects that create benefits that are greater than the costs. To achieve this these amendments require that Infrastructure Australia cannot include projects on the infrastructure priority list unless they have undertaken a cost-benefit analysis and that analysis has returned a positive benefit. To ensure these analyses are undertaken in a reliable and consistent way without the selection of favourable variables the amendments require Infrastructure Australia to publish a standard methodology which must be used by proponents. The amendments then create the requirement that the Commonwealth not provide public funding to major projects which are not on the priority list.

In line with the Prime Minister's amendment back in 2014, a major project is defined as one worth more than $100 million.

Amendment text

See OpenAustralia.org.au for the text of the amendments.