Federal Labor has proposed an ambitious plan for a $10 billion "concrete bank" to help draw investment from the private sector to fund new infrastructure projects.
Under the proposal, Infrastructure Australia will be at the centre of capital investment in the same manner the Reserve Bank is the independent authority at the centre of monetary policy.
The party says less politics and more private sector investment are needed to strengthen public works funding.
"Our plan is about transforming Infrastructure Australia from a passive body receiving proposals, to an active participant in the infrastructure and financing market," Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said.
Addressing the Queensland Media Club, Mr Shorten outlined a national to-do list of infrastructure projects, including the rail link to the new Sydney airport at Badgerys Creek and the Midland Highway in Tasmania.
Australia would have $4 trillion in superannuation savings by 2025, which could be directed into these works, and in turn offered more stability than the equity market, he said.
"No one is telling anyone ... where that $4 trillion has got to go," he said.
"But if we've got a market which is well run, transparent (and) immune from the politics, then I think we can get access to a much larger pool of national savings."
Returns for these investors would be ensured in several ways - not just tolls - he said.
Opposition infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese used the announcement to challenge the government's commitment to infrastructure and poke fun at Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's penchant for public transport.
"It's one thing to take selfies when you're hunting down an elected prime minister ... it's another thing to actually fund projects," he told ABC Radio.
But while Mr Shorten explicitly challenged the government to copy the plan, Infrastructure Minister Warren Truss slammed it as "policy on the run".
"(Having Infrastructure Australia as) an independent assessor and funding body in one makes no sense and raises issues of propriety," he said.
Lobby groups have largely welcomed the proposal as a good discussion point before the next election, with Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willcox going as far as to call it an "important contribution".
But the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry echoed a common concern that the plan needed further refining before it could be fully supported.
Meanwhile, the Australian Automobile Association has hailed the opposition's claim the plan will de-politicise infrastructure approvals.
PROJECTS LABOR WILL FUND
* Rail line to Sydney's Badgerys Creek airport
* Melbourne's Metro Rail
* Brisbane's Cross River Rail project
* Gold Coast Light Rail stage two
* Ipswich Motorway
* Pacific Highway
* Queensland's Bruce Highway
* Tasmania's Midland Highway
* Electrification of the Gawler rail line in Adelaide
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