Lawyers in the infrastructure and construction space are eagerly awaiting announcements from the federal and state governments related to infrastructure spending.

A number of projects above the A$3bn mark have been proposed, such as the $8bn Cross River Rail in Brisbane and the A$4.5bn Western Express Railway project in Sydney, which is reported to include provision for a second cross-harbor tunnel; however, whether any of them get off the ground will depend on whether the Federal Government is prepared to invest heavily in them. Given the unpredictable political environment and recent questions over the extent of the forecast budget surplus, fund allocation remains an uncertain question. “It’s going to be difficult for any state government to get very significant infrastructure projects off the ground without some federal support,” said Lander & Rogers partner David Fabian. “Now, that may be less true perhaps of WA and arguably QLD, where the resources boom is having a more immediate impact.”

Infrastructure Australia, the department responsible for allocating infrastructure dollars across the country, is said to be more favourably disposed towards resources-related projects, but equally importantly, so are private investors: “There’s a much greater prospect that a resources-focused infrastructure project would get off the ground than other kinds of projects, independent of federal funding,” said Fabian. “If there’s an identifiable demand then the feasibility of the project is much more straightforward – and support from end users is far more likely, apart from anything else.”

In the mining-rich Hunter Valley lawyers have been kept busy with the A$3.2bn Port of Newcastle development. Newcastle-based partner Marcus McCarthy of Gillis Delaney Lawyers said the region is struggling to get infrastructure funding for a number of necessary major infrastructure projects. “There is the potential over the next two years for a lot of property related work, once the city and government finalise their plans,” he said. According to McCarthy the Hunter’s regional infrastructure committee is pushing for a lot of projects and there are lots of developers looking for funding for projects, but the market is too unsettled. “We need to get Public Private Partnerships (PPP’s) off the ground. There are lots of plans, but little funding,” he said.

One of the biggest projects being undertaken in the Hunter is the F3 link to Branxton, a A$1.65bn project being funded by the federal and NSW governments. However other developments such as the CBD campus for Newcastle university and redevelopment of the Newcastle CBD are yet to get the go-ahead.

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