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Infrastructure Australia has today highlighted the need for public transport infrastructure to catch up with five million Australians who choose to live in the fast growing outer suburbs.

We are pleased that Infrastructure Australia’s research and recommendations support our calls for urgent investment in transport infrastructure in the outer suburbs, accompanied by integrated planning process and meaningful collaboration by all levels of Government.

The North-South rail link in Western Sydney, METRONET in Perth and electrification of the Gawler rail in Adelaide are important projects – long overdue. It is time for State and Federal Governments to seriously commit to catching up with established communities in the outer suburbs, and properly plan and resource the new communities that are being built every day.

Nearly 2,600 people will move to the Australia’s outer suburbs this week. That’s 370 people – every day – choosing to live and be part of a community in a newly built suburb. They move there on the understanding that not all services other Australians enjoy will be available immediately. 

But the wait is too long – seven years for a bus service, ten years with only one road in and out of a suburb, decades for a train line. The delay is unacceptable for such a large population. It’s time to catch up.

The National Growth Areas Alliance represents 21 Councils on the outskirts of Australia’s capital cities whose residents share the experience of population growth at double the national average with insufficient investment in infrastructure and services.