<span class="" id="parent-fieldname-description"> John Ellice-Flint and Gabrielle Trainor have been appointed to the Infrastructure Australia (IA) board. </span> <p>Ellice-Flint has been executive chairman on the Blue Energy Ltd board since 2012 and accordingly is experienced in the resources and mining sector.<br /><br />Trainor has served as chair on the Victorian Urban Development Authority, as director at the NSW Rail Access Corporation and was appointed to the Infrastructure Partnerships Investment Fund earlier this year.<br /><br />The board of IA has been substantially overhauled since the Liberal Party came to power federally.<br /><br />There were eleven members in January of this year, of which only three Mark Birrell, Nicole Lockwood and Dr Kerry Schott are still present.<br /><br />Speaking in parliament on September 24, deputy prime minister and minister for infrastructure Warren Truss told the House of Representatives:<br /><br />“The coalition government committed to and has reformed the peak industry advisory body, Infrastructure Australia.<br /><br />“No longer is the head of IA under the direct guidance and direction of the infrastructure minister, as was the case under the previous government.<br /><br />“No longer will IA be required to retrofit its advice to align with the election promises of any government, as was previously the case.<br /><br />“The previous government was right to set up Infrastructure Australia it was just wrong in the way it used it.”<br /><br />Infrastructure Australia is a statutory body set up under the Infrastructure Australia Act 2008 and its main functions are to advise on Australia’s current and future infrastructure needs mechanisms for financing infrastructure investments and policy, pricing and regulation and their impacts on investment and on the efficiency of the delivery, operation and use of national infrastructure networks.<br /><br />It has been reformed under the Infrastructure Australia Amendment Act 2014 to become more independent as a separate entity with a CEO and an executive board.<br /><br />“The IA board came into effect on September 1, 2014 with a mandate to deliver high-quality advice to enable governments to plan for the infrastructure of the future,” Truss said.<br /><br />“Importantly, the appointment of Mr Ellice-Flint and Ms Trainor completes the board membership.<br /><br />“Over the next six months, IA will be completing a full audit of Australia’s infrastructure asset base and identifying a 15-year forward plan for infrastructure that can increase national productivity and support economic growth,” he added.<br /><br /><em><strong>This article was originally published in Rail Express sister publication Lloyd’s List Australia.</strong></em></p>
