Podcasts Government Grattan Institute Why the federal government should stay in its lane on infrastructure funding

Why the federal government should stay in its lane on infrastructure funding

Published: July 16, 2023, 10 p.m.

The federal government has called a 90-day snap review of the Infrastructure Investment Program. The program was originally intended to fund projects of national significance, but has since \u2018drifted away\u2019 from those lofty ambitions.\n\nBut should the federal government be involved in infrastructure funding at all? Grattan Institute research has shown that federal funding of state and local infrastructure projects is often an exercise in pork-barrelling. After all, local road roundabouts and train-station carparks aren\u2019t exactly the Sydney Opera House.\n\nIn this special Grattan Podcast, our transport and cities experts Marion Terrill and Natasha Bradshaw discuss with host Kat Clay how federal infrastructure money should be best used.