Activities per year
Abstract
British settlement of Australia began in 1788 and, from the outset,
governments of all persuasions imposed strong ‘statist’ traditions of
public ownership and control of important infrastructure. Economic
development and physical access across the continent were dependent
on statist investment, construction and maintenance of crucial
infrastructure—often called the ‘colonial liberalist’ legacy by subsequent
historians. State intervention was accepted as a basic requirement of social
progress and economic development and, over time, Australia became
locked in a ‘path dependency’ paradigm reliant on state provision and
regulation of vital infrastructure. Accordingly, the provision of modes of
transport across the continent and the policy dictates associated with the
crucial issues of provision and usage were framed within a particularly
statist mindset. Roads, rail, shipping and river transport, as well as bridges,
jetties and wharves (and later air transport), were all historically financed
and governed by dirigisme and by institutional arrangements, rather than
market-based measures such as private investment, private provision and
consumer charging.
Arguably, command-driven public provision
and the arbitrary governmental regulation of transport infrastructure
came at a cost to the overall productivity and efficiency of each type of
infrastructure and the interconnectivity between them. And we are still
living with the legacy of this pattern of state activism in the funding and
provision of transport infrastructure.
governments of all persuasions imposed strong ‘statist’ traditions of
public ownership and control of important infrastructure. Economic
development and physical access across the continent were dependent
on statist investment, construction and maintenance of crucial
infrastructure—often called the ‘colonial liberalist’ legacy by subsequent
historians. State intervention was accepted as a basic requirement of social
progress and economic development and, over time, Australia became
locked in a ‘path dependency’ paradigm reliant on state provision and
regulation of vital infrastructure. Accordingly, the provision of modes of
transport across the continent and the policy dictates associated with the
crucial issues of provision and usage were framed within a particularly
statist mindset. Roads, rail, shipping and river transport, as well as bridges,
jetties and wharves (and later air transport), were all historically financed
and governed by dirigisme and by institutional arrangements, rather than
market-based measures such as private investment, private provision and
consumer charging.
Arguably, command-driven public provision
and the arbitrary governmental regulation of transport infrastructure
came at a cost to the overall productivity and efficiency of each type of
infrastructure and the interconnectivity between them. And we are still
living with the legacy of this pattern of state activism in the funding and
provision of transport infrastructure.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Road Pricing and Provision |
Subtitle of host publication | Changed Traffic Conditions Ahead |
Editors | Michael De Percy, John Wanna |
Place of Publication | Canberra, Australia |
Publisher | ANU E Press |
Chapter | 2 |
Pages | 11-44 |
Number of pages | 34 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9781760462314 |
ISBN (Print) | 9781760462307 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2018 |
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Activities
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Road pricing and provision: where are we now and how did we get here?
Michael De Percy (Invited speaker) & John Wanna (Speaker)
4 Mar 2018Activity: Talk or presentation › Invited talk
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Australia and New Zealand School of Government
Michael De Percy (Visiting researcher) & John Wanna (Visiting researcher)
1 Aug 2014 → 31 Jul 2018Activity: Visiting an external institution › Visiting an external academic institution