Elected as the Property Council of Australia’s new National President, QIC Managing Director Michael O’Brien is looking forward to telling the story of how our members create communities and assets that people live, work and learn in.
It’s a story Mr O’Brien knows well, with a career spanning more than 30 years in the property industry.
He came to QIC from Vicinity, where he was Chief Financial Officer and Chief Investment Officer, and before that spent nearly a decade with GPT, where he was instrumental in strategically repositioning the business following the GFC, with roles including Acting Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer.
He is now responsible for driving QICs real estate investment and business strategy in alignment with the expectations of our investors, partners and the communities in which we operate.
As the Property Council’s new National President, he sat down with Property Australia to chart the road ahead.
Congratulations on the new role. What are you most excited about and looking forward to in the new position?
We are a purpose driven industry, and the Property Council’s members are industry leaders who create communities and assets for communities to live, work and learn in. I like telling that story, and I think everyone should better understand what we do and why we do it.
I also want to help our members as they partner with governments to shape our cities for the better and create jobs. Often the role industry can play in advancing community outcomes is under-appreciated. I believe we can change that.
We are also an increasingly diverse industry and as a Property Champion of Change, I want to encourage everyone to consider our industry as an inclusive place for them to build a career. We have a lot of work to do in this space and I will help lead that proudly with my fellow Board directors and industry champions.
We have a broad advocacy platform around the country. What most interests you about that?
I’m excited to help lead the Property Council’s three-year strategy. This commits us to champion thought leadership on housing supply, better cities, smarter taxes and a clear industry path to net zero.
In particular, Australia faces a housing shortage of at least 160,000 homes over the next decade. Industry must work with government to fix this problem. The first step is to scorecard and incentivise states on more zoned supply for new brownfield and greenfield homes. We also need better state and local planning systems. Then the third step is to get more build-to-rent, purpose-built student accommodation, and retirement living communities to unlock the diversity of choice that people increasingly want. I believe we should also embed housing targets in all new city deals.
Social & affordable housing is something that will increasingly come to the forefront, as people need housing choice and affordable options. A recent report by the Property Council found the vast majority of Australians believe there is a lack of affordable housing supply in their local community, with housing affordability the second biggest concern among respondents, ranked only behind the cost of living.
Whether it’s owned, rented or social housing, we need to provide more opportunities to produce additional housing options to meet Australia’s growing needs.
What are the trends you are focused on over the next two years?
The future of investment in our cities and the pathway to net zero carbon emissions are both on my mind.
We have to make Australian cities an attractive place to invest, and governments need to keep that in mind while reviewing their taxation settings, whether it be FIRB or foreign investor surcharges at the state level.
We have one of the most attractive and stable real estate investment regimes in the world, which encourages others to help us build our cities and communities. We must work with government so our tax settings don’t impede that investment.
The built environment is 23 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. With the right policies, buildings can achieve their full potential to cut energy costs, improve occupant comfort, and reduce harmful emissions. As we head towards net zero by 2050, we need to agree on clear requirements around emissions reduction and climate adaptation for our cities, buildings and homes. We will need a property sector specific national plan agreed with state and territory governments to help get to net-zero-emission buildings, and to create measurement tools for embodied carbon and accelerating mitigation efforts.”
As a Property Champion of Change, how do you plan to continue to advocate for inclusive workforces and workplaces? How important is this aspect of the industry, beyond the assets, returns, etc. themselves?
Through the Coalition’s 25 members, we are continuing to place a focus on the property industry and on our workplaces being an inclusive environment for women – ensuring through our initiatives we increase the number of women in senior leadership positions.
However, advocacy cannot stop there – we have more to do to ensure people from under-represented groups can have a career in property, and are sponsored throughout their careers to further broaden the diversity of our industry.
This is not something we can do in isolation – it needs to be an industry-wide approach.