Luke Fraser

Luke Fraser is the founder and principal of a transport policy and investment advisory. In 2012 he was appointed to the board of the Prime Minister and Premiers Road Reform Project. From the late 1990s he spent over a decade in Canberra in several APS executive, Commonwealth government chief of staff and industry CEO roles across the transport and defence sectors.

Luke's recent articles

LUKE FRASER. 'Infrastructure stimulus' mostly 'stimulates' the transport agencies and their camp followers.

Under prevailing economic circumstances, our political leaders are in great need of accomplished and resolute infrastructure reform advice - especially in transport, which dominates spending. The new Federal Treasury Secretarys advice to the Senate this week was refreshing. It argued that further big infrastructure project spending was not the economic magic bullet so many think it is[i].

LUKE FRASER. A Repost: Congestion charging: Stockholm, Melbourne and Turnbulls legacy.

The Grattan Institute has just published a report on road congestion charging. It argues that congestion charging is a better way to manage busy urban roads. It is right but Ministers rejected the idea immediately. We waste far more money on pointless roads than we do on welfare. But the dollars we waste on roads is in response to powerful lobbyists, the motor and construction industries. See below a repost of an article by Luke Fraser on 3 October 2017.(John Menadue)

LUKE FRASER. The roads that ate the Australian economy Part 2 of 2

Australias current approach to road spending will soon generate up to $20 billion every year in new public sector debt - making it impossible for any new Commonwealth government to benefit from much-needed tax reform and revenue increases. This also cooks the goose of the road freight sector which Australias economy relies upon, while the perverse pattern of spending neglects our local road networks thanks to the endless fascination with dubious new motorway mega-projects.

LUKE FRASER. The roads that ate the Australian economy - Part 1 of 2

Australias current approach to road spending will soon generate up to $20 billion every year in new public sector debt - making it impossible for any new Commonwealth government to benefit from much-needed tax reform and revenue increases. This also cooks the goose of the road freight sector which Australias economy relies upon, while the perverse pattern of spending neglects our local road networks thanks to the endless fascination with dubious new motorway mega-projects.

LUKE FRASER. Best of 2018: Canberra has abandoned roads to inflationary spending and policy chaos.

Botched State road projects, toll road fee hikes and congestion grab big headlines and make good sport for critics of State governments.

LUKE FRASER. Canberra has abandoned roads to inflationary spending and policy chaos

Botched State road projects, toll road fee hikes and congestion grab big headlines and make good sport for critics of State governments.

LUKE FRASER. Freight: fresh disappointment for our Prime Minister

Pity Prime Minister Turnbull - an intelligent man, trying to secure productive reform of this sector, yet met with fresh disappointment at each turn. Turnbull has made a number of moves in the transport space to suggest he has seen through a lot of second-rate advice and now wants something better: a more efficient freight sector, for one thing.

LUKE FRASER. Rail manufacturing reform and the political shot clock.

One of the things that makes basketball so dynamic is the shot clock: once a team takes possession, they have 24 seconds to make a realistic shot - otherwise they turn the ball over to the opponents. This speeds up the game and discourages defensive play. In politics there is also a shot clock; a government which hasnt done much risks being thrown out at the ballot box. Even so, few governments seem to appreciate how little time they have to effect reform. In the two decades since the governments which many would argue understood best their brevity of...

LUKE FRASER. Australia is not "full" but lazy infrastructure policy strengthens the notion

The Australia is full immigration argument suggests we have our infrastructure planning and investment settings quite wrong. Debate is now re-emerging about the need for Australia to consider new cities.

LUKE FRASER. Is Sydney in thrall to an infrastructure cargo cult? (Part 3 of 3)

In the first two posts, the vast scale of Sydney major transport projects was estimated at $85 billion - a figure larger than all European spending on transport public private partnerships for the last five years; the posts also examined apparent strategic flaws in Sydneys Westconnex and Metro projects which threaten poor returns and unhelpful operational impacts. How did Sydney get here? Can things be improved?

LUKE FRASER. Good debt, bad debt: Poor infrastructure choices, no reform - and Lee Kuan Yew -A REPOST

In the Fairness, Opportunity, Security policy series and the resulting book, Dr Michael Keating AC and I wrote of Australias out-of-control transport infrastructure spending that: It is scandalous that this investment escapes proper scrutiny, while at the same time the proponents are calling for cuts in other government programs, including education and training programs that would actually increase productivity and participation.[i]

LUKE FRASER. Is Sydney in thrall to an infrastructure cargo cult? Part 2 of 3

This is the second of three articles considering transport infrastructure spending levels, shortcomings in transport governance and strategy and the potential for doing better.

LUKE FRASER. Is Sydney in thrall to an infrastructure cargo cult? (Part 1 of 3)

This is the first of three articles considering transport infrastructure spending levels, shortcomings in transport governance and strategy and the potential for doing better.

Regional infrastructure: if you want something done right

There is a not-so apocryphal story of a senior government minister explaining his regional policies to party colleagues. Somebody is said to have asked what is your Regional Assistance Strategy? to which he is said to have replied: Its a room in a building, in a country town, with a phone. You pick up the phone. You ring the number we provide and when somebody picks up, you say get me the f*#k out of here!

LUKE FRASER. Congestion charging: - Stockholm, Melbourne and Turnbull's legacy-a repost

On congestion charging. There are three lessons: first, congestion charges are devilish hard to put in place, even when they work demonstrably well; second, dont try to implement this in a city where there is no serious traffic congestion, or people will smell it for the revenue grab that it is - and respond accordingly.A third, vital lesson: Stockholm needed more than one level of government support to implement the charge.

LUKE FRASER. Federal Court decision at Port of Newcastle: a failure of bureaucratic leadership.

A recent episode of ABC televisions satire Utopia saw political spivs trying to convince the fictional Nation Building Authority to endorse anti-competitive conditions on a multi-billion-dollar port asset sale. Head of that Authority Tony Woodford - played beautifully by Rob Sitch - resisted valiantly. Shortly thereafter, a newspaper review criticised Utopia thus: the writers ofUtopiamake their point by reducing pivotal players in the policy formation process to idiots. (They) are straw men, delivering obviously untenable arguments, which guide the viewer to thinkno one in government knows what they are talking about. It's a lazy critique, but the writers get...

Road reform, bureaucracy-style: no economic benefit, higher prices for users and an easier ride for unaccountable agencies

From time to time our newspapers pen articles about road reform. They raise the need for spending to be more efficient and less guided by the electoral pork-barrel and for more value to be visible to motorists. The call for efficiency is particularly understandable as tax revenue become scarcer: the Westconnex motorway project in Sydney would almost fund the latest Gonski education reform package. Westconnex would also fund almost half of Australias latest submarines purchase[i].

LUKE FRASER. The 'Big Picture' in infrastructure: even more depressing than the little picture?

As news broke recently that the Sydney Metro project would necessitate the closure of Sydneys Bankstown rail line for a few months each year until well into next decade, the latest State Transport minister urged everyone to look at the bigger picture.

LUKE FRASER. Good, bad and ugly of congestion charging in Melbourne.

Attention to Stockholm's congestion charging system should be seriously studied in Australian cities. ... In roads, we have a pricing crisis rather than an infrastructure crisis.

LUKE FRASER. Roads: Minister Fletcher will need a good nose for bullshit to deliver genuine reform a la Paul Keating.

Both the Grattan Institute [i] and Ross Gittins [ii] have lauded Minister for Urban Infrastructure Paul Fletcher for his hard talk on road reform. Gittins compared him to Paul Keating. Fletcher is setting out with a reformers zeal. Like Keating, he shows a willingness to level with the public about big problems and the costs of inaction. It would be a pity if poor advice sees Fletcher telling us about the wrong problem. If he is to approach comparison with Keating, he must be alert to policy furphies.

LUKE FRASER. Infrastructure - a partner in our labours.

The Senate must be permitted to help avoid major infrastructure debacles. Many recent posts in Pearls and Irritations have focussed on democratic renewal. Some have decried a lack of trust and competence in our political class. At the same time our retiring Reserve Bank governor advises government should spend more on productive infrastructure. Given that the Australian Senate looks harder and harder to deal with for any government and public faith in major infrastructure projects is at a low ebb, how do we proceed?

Luke Fraser. Grattan in the transport pantomime: 'You're getting colder ... '

Earlier this month the Grattan Institute made its first major report into transport, producing Roads to Riches: better transport spending[i]. The 70-page report is replete with interesting-enough statistics, but it misses the mark on the major problems and where solutions might most reliably be found. Its core conclusions could perpetuate expensive mistakes (more of that in a moment). The Grattan is one of our brightest and most respected think-tanks; its CEO is talented and speaks truth to power. So if even Grattan can miss the mark in transport, it bodes ill indeed for the national debate. Transport matters:...

Luke Fraser. What the Australian Treasurer can do for roads.

or - How to stop pissing taxpayer money up against the wall!   Australias Treasurer Scott Morrison has signalled his reform priority: Im interested in talking to people who have ideas how we can get spending under control. We have a spending problem, not a revenue problem. There is plenty of money to be saved in roads. They cost Australians over $30 billion annually, but what does Australia see from all this spending? When major projects are independently assessed at all - which is infrequently - they often expose themselves as commercial and economic duds. As Dr...

Luke Fraser. Rail and roads: a reform blueprint to match Turnbulls boldness and innovation

Australias new Prime Minister demands boldness and innovative action. Amen. To date road and rail reform has proven too dry and monolithic for most Prime Ministers. But failure to act is now accruing several billion dollars in road debt annually. Transport consumes over $30 billion of taxpayer treasure annually. Boldness and innovation here can bankroll many other solutions across Australias economy. Recently I juxtaposed the continued failure of Australian rail with the US experience, where Jimmy Carters bold market reforms have seen $AUD 800 billion of market money invested in rail since 1980. But what are the solutions for...

Luke Fraser. Shorten, Infrastructure Australia and boldness.

Infrastructure Australia (IA) has truly become something to conjure with; it has even spawned a comedy series. Where is it headed? Last week Federal Opposition Leader Bill Shorten outlined Labors vision. This involved: a new $10 billion IA financing facility to encourage spending; putting trillions of Australian superannuant money to work in infrastructure investments; IA to become an investment bank of sorts The problem here lies in promoting more investment in infrastructure along the same lines as today. Lack of infrastructure spending is the least of Australias problems. Michael Keating and I demonstrated in an article...

Luke Fraser. True Blue

On Fathers day, anybody around the world lucky enough to have been woken by a happy young son (as I was) would have been hard-put not to have paused and thought of the image of the young Ardyl Kurdi, washed up lifeless on a beach. Millions are again on the roads of Europe, running away, looking for safety and stability. Perhaps these are the best of times and the worst of times that Dickens wrote of: The worst explains itself in Ardyl Kurdi. Perhaps we see the best in Angela Merkel and a relatively prosperous Germany planning to accommodate...

Luke Fraser. Rail infrastructure failure.

RAIL: FEWER SPENDING CHEERLEADERS, MORE JIMMY CARTER. In June the Australian Financial Review hosted an Infrastructure Summit of the great and good in Sydney. It heard about the need for much more infrastructure: Australia was well behind other countries in such matters. Nobody dwelt on the possibility that in transport at least, Australia might suffer from a tired and patchy regulatory inheritance and an extremely lazy generation of regulatory policy makers. Thankfully, at least one new project is complete: an Inland Rail. New freight inland ports are in place along its 4,000 kilometre length. It out-competes trucks for...

Infrastructure Audit 2015 and serious transport reform: how soon is now?

Infrastructure Australias Infrastructure Audit was released to the press in May this year. It circulated quickly across the nations media houses. They all parroted Hanrahan: well all be rooned if we dont resign ourselves to a big, new wave of investments.

<