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As Australia’s governments prepare to meet to discuss a national response to the challenges of accommodating growth in our largest cities, Infrastructure Australia has today released a new report advocating for a greater focus on strategic planning.

As Australia’s preparedness for our upcoming population growth continues to be the subject of debate, Infrastructure Australia remains focused on delivering better infrastructure outcomes for all Australians.

In recent weeks, our Future Cities report has sparked debate over what future we envision for our cities and regions and the crucial planning decisions ahead. Our growing population—set to reach 36 million by 2046—presents exciting opportunities to boost our national productivity, and strong infrastructure planning will be a key means by which we take advantage of this growth.

There has been a lot of public discussion in the media this week about Australia's population growth and how much growth our cities can handle. Public debate about important national issues is healthy, but our view at Infrastructure Australia is that we need to be talking about how we grow, not how much we grow.

To get infrastructure planning and delivery right, you must have a long-term focus. There could be no better example of this than when it comes to protecting the corridors Australia needs to provide future railways, roads and utility networks.

With infrastructure a focus of the 2017–18 Federal Budget, we have seen continued public commentary on the important role infrastructure investment can play in improving living standards and boosting Australia’s economic productivity.

Infrastructure Australia has published a newly revised Infrastructure Priority List identifying 100 major proposals that Australia needs over the next 15 years to boost our quality of life and grow our economy.

Today the Australian Government delivered its official response to our 15-year Australian Infrastructure Plan.

As we approach the halfway point of 2016, I am pleased to see there has been plenty of ongoing public discussion and debate on the future of Australia's infrastructure. Much of the discussion has centred around the data and recommendations from our Australian Infrastructure Plan and refreshed Infrastructure Priority List, which we released in February this year.

2015 was a landmark year for Infrastructure Australia, and 2016 is shaping up to be just as important.