From the CEO

2021 has been a productive and rewarding year for IWA.

The year started with the team busily assessing, evaluating and testing feedback from our Discussion Paper consultation, which helped shape the State Infrastructure Strategy and its recommendations.

While our public submission period had closed in September 2020, there were still many conversations had through to April 2021, where various sessions with our peak industry expert and government reference groups and individual agencies were held to better understand the priority infrastructure needs and opportunities across the state, and to test the various build and non-build infrastructure responses.

The expertise of these groups and individual agencies continued to be called upon as the draft Strategy was finalised and released by the Premier Mark McGowan MLA on 21 July 2021, to a forum of more than 900 guests.

The release of the draft Strategy, Foundations for a Stronger Tomorrow, marked the start of another intensive consultation and comment period.

Consultation on the draft Strategy generated rich feedback across all corners of WA with broad support for its recommendations. Feedback received has been thoroughly tested with our Board and relevant stakeholders, and I’m pleased to share that the Strategy is in a near final format and ready to progress to the next phase.

We will now commence a new chapter in WA’s infrastructure story, and for the first time, a long-term infrastructure Strategy, shaped by the many voices of industry, government and the community, will be submitted to the Premier for consideration and acceptance. IWA will then eagerly await the WA Government’s response and stand ready to assist and support nominated agencies in the implementation of accepted Strategy recommendations.

I would like to thank all our stakeholders who took the time this year to work with us, share their valuable insight and provide feedback.

While the Strategy has been our primary focus, we have also been finalising preparations for IWA’s assessment of major infrastructure proposals function, which will commence on 1 January 2022. The new function will ensure infrastructure proposals are assessed equitably, while improving the quality of proposals, to maximise the return on investment in infrastructure in WA.

The team has worked in close collaboration with central government agencies in the development of the guidelines and overall establishment of this new function. I appreciate the dedicated time and effort and support agency representatives have given in the creation of this assessment function.

Throughout 2021, we have also continued our provision of advice to the Premier and state agencies on infrastructure proposals, and assisted with submissions to Infrastructure Australia, with 19 WA Government proposals currently on Infrastructure Australia’s Infrastructure Priority List.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Lance Glare, who recently accepted a role in the private sector, for his dedication, support and hard work in establishing IWA through to finalisation of the Strategy. We wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.

Copyright @2021 Infrastructure WA. All rights reserved.

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08 6552 5229 / enquiries@infrastructure.wa.gov.au

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