Guiding principles 11 Objectives 13 RECOMMENDATIONS METHODOLOGY 15 Advice to whom? 15 Shaping the recommendations 16 Listening to you 20 Relationship with other strategies 22 Dealing with uncertainty 24 Dealing with complexity 27 A workable plan 28 Funding infrastructure 29 RECOMMENDATIONS 31 Recommendations summary 31 Integration with land use planning 33 Asset management and maintenance 35 Harnessing technology 36 Recommendations quick reference guide 38 Need 1 Address infrastructure demands in areas with high population growth 47 Need 2 Address infrastructure challenges in areas with low or negative population growth 58 Need 3 Respond to increasing pressures on health infrastructure, particularly due to ageing 64 Need 4 Enable physical activity and participation 69 Need 5 Provide spaces where communities can come together 74 Need 6 Improve accessibility for people with mobility challenges 79 Need 7 Provide better access to housing for the most vulnerable Victorians 82 Need 8 Address increasing demand on the justice system 92 Need 9 Provide access to high-quality education infrastructure to support lifelong learning 97 Need 10 Meet growing demand for access to economic activity in central Melbourne 102 Need 11 Improve access to middle and outer metropolitan major employment centres 118 Need 12 Improve access to jobs and services for people in regional and rural areas 129 Need 13 Improve the efficiency of freight supply chains 141 Need 14 Manage threats to water security, particularly in regional and rural areas 151 Need 15 Manage pressures on landfill and waste recovery facilities 156 Need 16 Help preserve natural environments and minimise biodiversity loss 160 Need 17 Improve the health of waterways and coastal areas 165 Need 18 Transition to lower carbon energy supply and use 169 Need 19 Improve the resilience of critical infrastructure 176 NEXT STEPS 180 The government response 181 Implementation of initiatives 183 The next strategy 184
Affordable housing planning mechanisms 7.3.2 SAH, AHR Statewide, health and human services Affordable housing provision 7.4.3 ARH, SHE Statewide, health and human services Aged care facility approvals 3.4.1 UPA Statewide, health and human services Brown coal transition 18.2.1 BCA, BCL Statewide, energy City Loop reconfiguration 10.10.1 CLR Melbourne, transport Clyde rail extension 1.3.7, 10.8.4 CRE Melbourne, transport Coastal protection infrastructure 19.1.4 CPI Stateiwde, water and waste, science, agriculture and environment Communications infrastructure 12.1.3, 19.1.2 ETP Statewide, ICT Community cultural facilities 5.1.2 CCF Statewide, cultural, civic, sporting, recreation and tourism Community space refurb/rationalisation 1.4.4, 2.3.2, 5.4.2 CSR Statewide, cultural, civic, sporting, recreation and tourism Community space shared use agreements 1.4.2, 2.3.1, 5.2.2 CSS1 Statewide, cultural, civic, sporting, recreation and tourism Community sport/recreation facilities 4.3.2 SRF Statewide, cultural, civic, sporting, recreation and tourism Community use of TAFE assets 9.4.2 TAF Statewide, cultural, civic, sporting, recreation and tourism, education and training Courts in high growth areas 8.1.2 JDG Statewide, justice and emergency services Courts in Melbourne’s CBD 8.3.4 JLP Melbourne,
retail development (such as cafés and shops). User charges could be used to recover from users some of the cost of the infrastructure, maintenance or operations for these facilities. User charges for using refurbished community facilities could be considered to help fund future development. Things we considered One of the main issues we considered in responding to this need was whether to recommend using infrastructure to grow local economies and create jobs and help reverse the trend of population decline in the process, for example, by expanding the reach of the rail network. In the end we concluded that infrastructure could make only a limited contribution to promoting growth in areas where fundamental economic change is underway, such as the effect of new technologies on the labour intensity of farming. Instead, we focused on developing alternative delivery models and ongoing management and maintenance of existing infrastructure, with the aim of sustainably providing basic services. At this stage, we have recommended that state government provides additional support for upgrades to local roads over the medium to long term, even though the Commonwealth Government recently announced an extension of the Roads to Recovery program, as problems in these areas are unlikely to go away. We recognise that rural and regional councils often have vast areas of land and assets to manage, including thousands of kilometres of roads that are critical to local residents and to the movement of freight. Figure 4: Population growth in Victoria over the next 30 years is not projected to be evenly distributed across the state. Source: Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Victoria in future 2016, and unpublished Victorian Government population projections, adapted by AECOM/PwC Timeline 2.1 Maintain adequate transport connectivity in low growth areas 2.1.1 Regional highways: 0-5 years (Planning/prioritisation or further investigation, Regional and rural Victoria, transport) 2.1.2 Regional coaches: 0-10 years (New or expanded asset(s), Regional and rural Victoria, transport) 2.1.3 On-demand transport services: 0-10 years (Changing behaviour/better use, statewide, transport) 2.1.4 Regional road maintenance: 5-30 years (Changing behaviour/better use, Regional and rural Victoria, transport) 2.2 Support access to services through technology in low growth areas 2.2.1 Police communications channels: 0-5 years (Changing behaviour/better use, Statewide, justice and emergency services, ICT)