COAG backs transport and infrastructure reforms

Prime minister Kevin Rudd said the transport reforms had the potential to boost national income by $2.4bn a year.

COAG endorsed:

• establishment of a single national heavy vehicle regulator with responsibility for regulating all vehicles over 4.5 gross tonnes, including inspection standards, safe driving hours, mass limits and registration;

• Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) becoming the national regulator of all commercial vessels operating in Australian waters. Currently ASMA regulates only interstate operations;

• creation of a national rail safety regulatory system and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) becoming the preferred investigator of rail accidents.

"The governments of Australia are working together to put in place a seamless national economy – an outcome which will lift national productivity and allow transport operators to get products on to supermarkets shelves and our exports to market at the lowest cost," Mr Rudd said.

"For example, at the moment an interstate truck driver must comply with all regulations applying in each of the jurisdictions they drive through.

"Even small differences can create extra costs, red tape and confusion for the trucking industry, particularly for the many 'mum and dad' operators."

While agreement was expected and the reforms were well-flagged, there had been some industry and union concern that the states were impeding the decision for selfish ends and had been given too much time to comply.

The go-ahead for the reforms, which should be fully implemented by 2013, followed the finalisation of Regulatory Impact Statements and a recommendation from the nation’s transport ministers.

Transitional arrangements will come into effect in 2011 for heavy vehicles, maritime, and rail.  

A separate COAG agreement to integrate planning and environmental approvals for Commonwealth-State funded infrastructure projects was described by peak body Infrastructure Partnerships Australia as a crucial first step.

“This is a timely and mature approach, as the current situation of overlapping laws and approval bodies for nationally-significant projects has been a costly impediment to the delivery of infrastructure,” IPA chairman Mark Birrell said.

“This agreement means that projects supported by the Commonwealth will now benefit from an integrated process which includes all statutory approvals.

“The appointment of one co-ordinator responsible for each critical project will mean these major projects will have a champion within government to ensure their timely delivery.

“The current, complex system with multiple approvals has seen key projects such as major freight lines, port expansions and road projects needlessly suffer from delays of up to three years."

The agreement that COAG would also work toward a seamless approval process for other projects outside of Infrastructure Australia and the stimulus packages will be very important to future productivity.

“The ability to efficiently construct and commission the right infrastructure across the transport, utilities and social infrastructure sectors will be the key to Australia’s economic recovery and growth. Co-operative reform of planning frameworks is an important step to achieving this outcome,” Mr Birrell said.