Governments urged to invest in roads, water, telecoms to protect against natural disasters

Infrastructure Australia has urged federal and state governments to invest billions of dollars shoring up the country's water supply, roads and telecommunications networks to protect them from national disasters and climate change.

Infrastructure Australia says the summer's fires and the drought have
 highlighted the need to build resilience into the nation's infrastructure.

Releasing its latest priority list, IA chief executive Romilly Madew said years of drought and the summer's bushfires had highlighted the need to ensure the nation's infrastructure was more resilient.

"Compounding issues of unprecedented infrastructure demand, severe drought and other environmental changes require a focus on our resilience strategies and a consensus on where to invest now for our nation's future prosperity," she said on Tuesday.

IA identifies the most pressing major infrastructure needs of the country each year and ranks them in terms of importance. Proposals from governments, councils, lobby groups and the private sector are vetted by the agency.

Read the story from The Age by Shane Wright - “Governments urged to invest in roads, water, telecoms to protect against natural disasters.”