Table of Contents
On the fiftieth anniversary of the Snowy in 1999, I called for unwavering political support for major infrastructure projects. Support such as was enjoyed by the Snowy project and was essential for its success. Some eight years on we see signs of cautious political support for big projects. Our economic infrastructure still suffers from major gaps particularly in transport (public and private), water, power and ports. We are suffering also from a technical skills shortage. Political support is emerging but is cautious because of the plethora of noisy single-issue groups encouraged by a media greedy for the 20 second grab. Furthermore, defects in our Constitution are exacerbating the problem as Federal and State Governments grapple with problems best dealt with on a national basis.