CANBERRA, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Australia's highest-ranking infrastructure official has warned that the nation's cities are on the verge of being ground to a halt by population growth.
Philip Davies, chief executive of Infrastructure Australia, on Tuesday said that the country's biggest cities were consigned to a future of gridlock unless governments worked together on major infrastructure projects.
Davies, who will stand down as head of the government's peak infrastructure body at the end of July, criticized governments for failing to be accountable to taxpayers on the cost of infrastructure projects.
"An additional 11.8 million people will call Australia home in the next 30 years, with the bulk of this growth occurring in our largest cities, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth," he told News Corp Australia on Tuesday.
"The reality is, if we don't improve the way we plan and deliver our infrastructure, we won't cope with this growth and our cities will be characterised by congestion and constraint.
"We need to have the right long-term planning and supporting infrastructure in place, and that begins with ensuring that decisions on public infrastructure projects are robust, transparent and accountable."
His comments came as the federal government, led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, considers how best to counter population growth in major cities, half of which can be attributed to Australia's annual migration intake.
One approach being considered by Turnbull is to direct a greater percentage of migrants to rural towns, addressing the stagnating population growth in those areas and easing the pressure on major cities.
Even if population growth can be eased, Davies warned that politicians needed to be more responsible in announcing infrastructure projects before a proper analysis of the costs and benefits could be completed.
"There are few more dangerous places to stand than between a politician and an infrastructure announcement," he said.
"Across the nation, governments at all levels need to be more disciplined in doing their homework on proper infrastructure planning."
