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Urban Taskforce | Media Releases
Federal Treasurers statements welcome, but swift action must follow
10 February 2010
Developers have welcomed Treasurer Wayne Swans comments in Parliament today on the need to eliminate the constraints to the supply side of the housing market.
We need to minimise the uncertainty and delay from developer charges, he said.
We need to find ways to use data from land audits to enable better use of land development.
Of course, we need further work done through [the Council of Australian Governments], and this matter was put on the agenda of COAG in December.
It is being progressed by planning ministers and state housing ministers and Commonwealth ministers in the weeks ahead.
The Urban Taskforces chief executive, Aaron Gadiel, said that Mr Swan was right to make it clear that inflexible planning rules and high levies made it hard to accommodate the needs of our growing population.
We need the same sort of swift action on urban development that we saw from the Federal Government last year in response to the global financial crisis, Mr Gadiel said.
Were in the midst of a national housing crisis and if this crisis persists the pressures may be too much for the Australian economy.
The Treasurer is right to shine a light on problems with zoning, planning approvals and levies.
However, the Commonwealth needs to urgently force changes that will make it easier for housing and urban development projects to take place.
This includes cutting levies and giving developers the security they need to buy land knowing that their property rights will be respected.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
For every $1 million in construction expenditure, 27 jobs are created throughout the broader economy. The construction activity made possible by property developers contributes $78 billion to the national economy each year and creates 849,000 direct jobs.
