Fast Train Project Macro Economic Assessment July 2020

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STRONGER, TOGETHER – An independent state-wide macroeconomic assessment of fast regional commuter rail network impacts on Victorian settlement patterns, economic growth, fairness and opportunity.

With a population approaching five million, the Melbourne metropolitan area accommodates around three-quarters of the population of Victoria. Five railway lines radiate from Melbourne towards a mixture of major provincial cities, towns, ex-urban areas and farmland.

In the first half-decade of the current century the government of Victoria upgraded the country portions of four of the five rail lines to clear one track for 160 kph running.

The current project proposal follows on and includes electrification of the five lines, a modest increase in maximum speed from 130/160 kph to 200 kph and further increases in frequency of service.

The present study is confined to addressing the effects of the Project on the productivity of the Victorian economy and its constituent regions via its influence on producers’ choices as to where to locate economic activity and citizens’ choices as to where to live. It accordingly assumes that the Project is viable in terms of patronage (and hence modal split), costs (including health and safety benefits) and environmental benefits including greenhouse gas emission abatement.

https://nieir.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Fast Train Project Macro Economic Assessment July 2020.pdf

For comment, please contact:

Dr Ian Manning
0447 653 711

Data for Local Economic Development Planning

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Since 1998 the National Institute of Economic and Industry Research has prepared an annual State of the Regions report for the Australian Local Government Association. The report includes coverage of urban as well as country regions – for example, the Sydney metropolitan area is divided into nine regions and South East Queensland comprises six regions, one of which is Gold Coast.

Each report includes an array of data for each region. These data are also available by Local Government Areas. The data is intended for use in local economic development planning and project assessment, and is collated from a wide variety of sources. The paper describes the availability of primary data at regional level, including the Census and administrative data available by postcode (especially Social Security and tax statistics), housing sales and prices and local government valuation data. Survey data are also discussed, including methods by which surveys can provide local estimates for variables not explicitly observed at the local level.

The paper takes the City of Gold Coast as an example and compares the economy Gold Coast with that of Australia as a whole and also with other selected regions. The structure of the Gold Coast economy is similar to that of Australia as a whole in many respects, though its dependence on tourism as an economic base results in lower than average value added per person employed.

Gold Coast Conference Paper

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