Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Private sector partnerships changing in Australia

Updated at 3:11 pm on 9 March 2010

An infrastructure specialist says the global financial crisis has changed the way public private partnerships (PPP) are delivered in Australia.

The business manager of economics and policy at GHD, Steve Kanowski, is in New Zealand to talk to Treasury officials about the experience of Queensland.

Mr Kanowksi says population growth and a surging mining sector put immense pressure on Queensland's ageing infrastructure more than a decade ago.

He says PPPs have worked well in the main but are not the answer to everything.

A combined effort of local and national government is needed, he says, and the private sector should be brought in where appropriate.

A stocktake of New Zealand's infrastructure found the country's roads and other physical assets in reasonable shape, but the plan highlighted uncertainty about what might be needed in 10 or 20 years.

Steve Kanowski says for PPS to work, firms need certainty about the country's long term infrastructure plans, and government needs to ensure the contracts exactly meet the needs of the community.

Mr Kanowski says the global financial crisis has restricted funding and pushed up its cost, while government is now demanding clearer outcomes from any deal.

He says the Australian government has taken a more rigorous approach to building new roads, schools, hospitals and ports in recent years.

Demand-side management and getting the most of the existing infrastructure is being promoted before capital-hungry infrastructure projects are considered, which he says can push out capital spending by decades.

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