Answer

  Research Question

Introduction

                Some of the changes that can be applied to Infrastructure Australia’s assessment framework to improve outcomes for relevant stakeholders include creating assessment tools of checks and balances. The budget is one of the most important parts of infrastructural development. Looking at it from such a perspective helps the relevant stakeholders decide which are more pressing than others. The idea of development may directly indicate the need for certain infrastructural projects to be underway. Still, the project may sometimes be too expensive as compared to other infrastructural projects in the country. For example, the Infrastructure Australia company may be interested in undertaking a space exploration project to Mars. Still, it may deem it too expensive compared to the national allocation of monetary resources.

Discussion

     The infrastructure development element is done while adhering to time. It is also done in line with the national vision. The entire world has been faced with the COVID 19 pandemic. Australia has been equally faced with the devastating effects of the pandemic in its borders. Due to the emergency response efforts that have been placed in response to the pandemic, most of the other infrastructural development projects have been stalled (van Staden & McKenzie, 2019).  For one, the pandemic played a big role in ensuring that the workforce was reduced to the bare minimum essential workers. In other cases, some of the most qualified workers for some projects were either infected or lost their lives. Their incapacity is a big blow to the project altogether. The pandemic has therefore forced the Infrastructure Australia’s assessment plan for projects to divert its attention to the pandemic and its relief efforts.

       As a result of the said pandemic, Infrastructure Australia’s assessment plan can also be changed to include the relevant efforts to combat the pandemic’s effects on the economy. For the most part, the pandemic has resulted in a huge number of people losing their means of livelihood, a scenario which also calls for the assessment plan to be changed to help the economy get back on its feet (Rice & Martin, 2020). In other cases, giving the people a new road may be unnecessary compared to giving them a factory. The factory can directly deal with the problem of unemployment that is a result of the pandemic.

      The infrastructural assessment plan can also be changed to include measures to check the project’s overall importance to the national macroeconomic issues. Some of the most relevant include the effect on the GDP, and aggregate supply and demand. Aggregate demand is the total number of goods that have been produced in a country in a country. Some of the things that influence aggregate demand are the interest rate in a country. National development projects are also affected by it (Radcliffe, 2019). The companies commissioned by the state to conduct the projects need various forms of financial aid to get it through. The project is greatly influenced by the interest rate given by the banks. If the banks were to give a high-interest rate, it would greatly deter Infrastructure Australia’s efforts to initiate infrastructural projects for development. The country should, therefore, try to maintain interest rates at a minimum.

        On the other hand, the project’s influence on the aggregate supply is a great indicator of the changes that could be made on the assessment plan. The aggregate supply is the total number of goods and services supplied in an economy. The impact of each project on it could be a great indicator of if it should be given priority (Ali et al., 2020). The government could be interested in maybe investing in a road, for example, that may open up access to more business from a particular geographical region. In turn, the road may be more business to the area, increasing the aggregate supply of goods. The effects of an increase in profits reflect the good or positive impact that the project had in the first place.

              Looking at a project from an impact perspective is important, especially now that there is a pandemic. Each project’s effect is important because of the dire need for the country and the world to beat the crisis (Allen et al., 2020). Therefore, based on this factor, one may find that, for example, the need for a hospital or a health center may be termed as more important than let’s say a sports stadium and associated initiatives. The idea of looking at impact by infrastructure for development is unavoidable because it is the basis of governance.

Conclusion

       Through its infrastructural initiatives, the government of Australia should greatly consider the fact that its national goals and plan for the future are linked to how well it will conduct its infrastructural development activities. Therefore, the infrastructural assessment plan can be changed to include measures to check the project’s overall importance to the national macroeconomic issues and its impact on the current pandemic.