User:Triptothecottage/Transport in Victoria

The transport system of Victoria, Australia includes networks of roads, freight and passenger railways, and waterways, as well as airports and sea ports catering for intrastate, interstate and international travel. The state's largest city, Melbourne, has a substantial urban transport network, as well as connections to regions and other major cities.

Historically, the Government of Victoria and its agencies have borne primary responsibility for the development and maintenance of the transport network. Local governments also operate and maintain large sections of the transport network, and the Commonwealth government makes substantial contributions to the funding of transport infrastructure. In the latter half of the 20th century, a shift towards neoliberalism in the state's politics saw aspects of providing the transport network passed to the private sector, through such reforms as the sale of state-owned transport assets, public private partnerships with infrastructure companies, franchising of public transport services, and contracting of maintenance and construction services. However, the government maintains a significant transport bureaucracy and leads policy, regulation and development of the transport network.

Governance
The first transport authorities in what is now Victoria were those of the government of the Colony of New South Wales, which, following the permanent settlements in 1834 and 1835 of Portland and Melbourne respectively, oversaw the development of basic port facilities. From 1836, Port Phillip Bay was surveyed and charted, and a harbourmaster appointed. The colonial government also took responsibility for the construction of roads and bridges in the new settlement,