A SENIOR Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) official
says more can be complete to get better the nation's transportation networks.
RBA deputy governor Philip Lowe says civilizing
transport is vital to economic growth and rising Australia's economic
competitiveness.
"I find it hard to run away the conclusion
that we are declining short in some areas, mainly in parts of our
transportation system both private and public. Many of you have no doubt felt
the aggravation of moving around our cities," he said in a speech in
Sydney on Tuesday.
"There can also be positive social impact
through dipping travel stress and rising the connectedness of communities. And
there are environmental benefits as well."
Dr Lowe said improved public transport also
helped ease the cost of housing.
"When housing prices are high, it is mainly
because land price are elevated And, land prices are high when there is a lack
of well-located land," he said.
"We cannot do much about the physical supply
of land, but asset in transportation infrastructure by making it easier to move
around the city can augment the supply of well-located land.
"This means that underinvestment in
transportation networks tend to put up pressure on housing costs," he said
to an International Association for Research on Income and Wealth (IARIW) and
University of New South Wales (UNSW) Conference.
Dr Lowe said better transport would augment output
and improve people's lives.
"Given these a variety of effects, my possess
view is that there are important opportunities for additional asset in
transportation infrastructure and for using the obtainable infrastructure more
efficiently."
