Federal and state infrastructure expenditure is the lifeblood of economic growth and is the basis upon which quality of life is predicated. According to the 2013-14 Commonwealth budget, infrastructure spending has increased by an average of 16% from 2012-13 figures. Looking at the figures on a state by state basis, $23.4 billion (approximately 46%) of Commonwealth funds were allocated to New South Wales. Queensland received $16.6 billion; $13.5 billion will be spent in Victoria; $6.9 billion in Western Australia; $4.2 billion in South Australia; $1.9 billion in Tasmania; $1.1 billion in the Northern Territory; and $506 million in the Australian Capital Territory.
The top three recipients in terms of per capita infrastructure investment as outlined in the 2013-14 budget are Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia. Per capita, Queensland residents are set to receive a Commonwealth allocation of $3,800, while $3,342 is allocated for each New South Wales resident and $2,884 per Western Australian resident. An analysis of the 2012-13 budget indicates an identical makeup of top funding recipients.
Historically, infrastructure expenditure has been correlated with property growth. RP Data reports that the median property price for capital city homes in Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia has grown at an average of 5.2% to the year ending 31 July 2013. Australia wide, the median price for capital city homes has grown at a rate of 3.3% over the same period.
These results highlight the importance of infrastructure investment analysis in selecting the appropriate property and the appropriate location. Importantly, large scale infrastructure projects provide long term growth potential. In most cases these projects offer economy stimulation in multiple phases, from planning to construction and, finally, to implementation.
