Three innovative projects were declared winners at the third annual Australian Smart Infrastructure Awards last night.
One of those projects has already received a major grant from the Gillard Labor Government, showing our commitment to smart and innovative infrastructure.
These awards were established with the federal Labor Government’s support, and are hosted each year by Infrastructure Partnerships Australia.
The Australian Smart Infrastructure Awards recognise clever design, delivery and use of smart infrastructure in the areas of broadband, energy, water, international gateways, rail freight, cities and Indigenous infrastructure.
This year, two projects shared the 2012 Australian Smart Infrastructure Project Award for improving the sustainability of water supply.  They were:

• Tasmanian Sustainable Irrigation Development Project - this Tasmanian Irrigation Pty Ltd project will build a series of 13 irrigation schemes to mitigate the effect of droughts in the state.

The schemes are due to be completed by 2015. The project is a partnership involving federal and state governments, and a number of stakeholders. It has received $140 million in federal funding.

• Future Flow project – this Transfield Services project is modernising and upgrading existing irrigation infrastructure in northern Victoria.  The new fully automated water delivery systems will save over 30 per cent of water that’s currently lost through leakage, seepage or evaporation. 
  

The Future Flow alliance has delivered the largest channel automation system in Australia.
Further, the University of Melbourne was awarded the $25,000 2012 Australian Smart Infrastructure Research Grant for their study into the quantification of design innovation for infrastructure projects.
I congratulate the winners and all nominees for participating in this important event.
Further information on the Awards is available at www.infrastructure.org.au