New deal for cities on the cards

New deal for cities on the cardsCreating great cities is good economic policy, says Australia’s Minister for Cities, as reports of a new deal for cities signals a fresh approach to nation building.Australia’s first Minister for Cities and the Built Environment, Jamie Briggs, says the biggest battle on the horizon will be the war for human capital.”We have to build cities people want to live in or we’ll fall behind. This is economic policy,” he said.The Prime Minister maintains that “this is a ‘futurist’ portfolio,” Briggs added.Saturday’s Sydney Morning Herald broke the earlier details of the Turnbull Government’s new cities agenda, and its provisional name: a new deal for cities.Until now, the federal government has never been involved in the detailed planning and building of cities.The ‘new deal’ reportedly contains three pillars: long-term planning in partnership with the states; investment in infrastructure; and ‘green’ cities.Property Council Chief Executive Ken Morrison said that one of Australia’s biggest economic challenges is to “ensure our cities don’t become less productive as they grow, dragged down by grinding congestion, declining liveability and reduced connectivity.”A new deal for cities might just be a good deal for Australia,” Morrison said.Meanwhile, Treasurer Scott Morrison is continuing his support for a plan to unlock the capital in the homes of older Australians, telling the Australian Financial Review, “with an ageing population, under the right settings, we can unlock the capital of older Australians and create a new market for senior’s services and housing in Australia.”The Property Council’s Executive Director Retirement, Mary Wood, said enabling seniors to unlock home capital to spend on the services they need is a smart move the industry has been advocating and one that could secure bipartisan support.”Not only would this plan improve the quality of life for many older Australians, it would also take pressure off government spending” Ms Wood said.The Treasurer has also wasted no time in identifying the solution to national housing affordability challenges: a partnership with states to increase the supply of new homes. He has said tax reform is critical for Australians who wanted to “work, save, and invest”.The Property Council welcomed the Treasurer’s comments.”Introducing incentives to encourage states and territories to reform their planning systems and promote housing supply will ensure the current strong construction activity will continue,” Ken Morrison said.The Turnbull Government should be focused on “getting rid of taxes that hinder growth and add to the cost of living”.