Infrastructure Australia’s latest report got lost in the tax debate this week, writes Tim Colebatch. It deserves a closer look

It’s called the Australian Infrastructure Plan, but it really isn’t one. The report released on Wednesday by Infrastructure Australia, the little engine of whom we expect so much, reveals that it has had time to evaluate only two of the ninety-three infrastructure proposals that state and territory governments have proposed for federal funding.

That’s not surprising. This financial year Infrastructure Australia had its average staffing level increased by almost 40 per cent: from eleven to fifteen. The Productivity Commission has a staff of 167. Yes, Infrastructure Australia has another twelve people on its board who are pretty cluey on infrastructure issues, and a larger budget for consultants than for staff. But in its seven-and-a-half years in business, neither Labor nor the Coalition has equipped it to play the role they have led us to expect of it: to be an honest expert broker, evaluating the nation’s infrastructure needs and rigorously evaluating the projects that governments propose to meet them. You can’t do that with a staff of fifteen…

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