But the business community should also become better at telling the personal stories of people who benefited from infrastructure projects.

JWS Research managing director John Scales said communities' views were not being included in infrastructure planning. "They do not see themselves in the picture … our ego as companies or politicians is getting in the way."

Most people did not understand how the proceeds of recycled assets were spent, even if they benefited from the spending, Mr Scales said.

"There is a lack of awareness and understanding of what is going on in the marketplace with voters … we're leaving people behind."

John Holland, which is hiring more than 100 people each month to build infrastructure around Australia, is worried about a shortage of project leaders as well as the supply of key materials like steel as tens of billions of dollars of projects get under way. "The pressure is on in terms of resources," said CEO Joe Barr.

Wasting resources

The construction company is also concerned about the expense of bidding, with bids for "mega projects" costing tens of millions of dollars, he said. John Holland has 80 people working on a bid to build Brisbane's Cross River Rail project, which is expected to take about six months.

Mr Barr said governments embarking on large complicated infrastructure projects needed to consider the "most appropriate" party to take on risks.


"Utilities or the contamination of soil are risks that by and large you don't know," he said. "We have to look at it sensibly and not just push the risk on to the private market."

Mr Barr said he would welcome a more "open and transparent" approach to project selection, and reducing the number of bidders down from the three or four that is typical now to avoid wasting resources when tendering for projects.

IFM global head of infrastructure Kyle Mangini said that Australia, with Canada, led the world in using private funds to invest in infrastructure. IFM is among the bidders for a 51 per cent stake in Sydney's $16.8 billion WestConnex project.

Asked about the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's review of Transurban's participation in the WestConnex bidding process, Mr Mangini noted that it was "much easier" for governments to extend concessions in exchange for approving new infrastructure projects rather than going out to a public tender.

"If you only have one party in the entire country that can do that, you are going to have a particular outcome," he said.

"The position [the ACCC] has taken is that over longer term, having two major operators is a better outcome for the state than having a single operator."