Productivity Commission Bill passes

Productivity Commission Bill passesThe Queensland Productivity Commission Bill 2015 has passed the State Parliament, formally establishing the stand-alone economic advisory body, independent of Government, with the objectives of lifting productivity, improving living standards and driving economic growth.The Property Council has supported the establishment of the new statutory body as a positive source of future evidence-based analysis informing the public discussion around future reform in a number of key areas.Unlike the Victorian Competition & Efficiency Commission or Western Australia’s Economic Regulation Authority, which can only investigate matters referred to them by the State Government, the Act provides the Queensland Productivity Commission with the flexibility to conduct its own investigations, in addition to conducting investigations as directed by the Treasurer.The statutory mandate to self-initiate investigations is comparable to the Commonwealth Government’s Productivity Commission and is the preferred model to provide independent economic advice. The Property Council has called for the new Productivity Commission to investigate Queensland’s local government rating system, as well as monitoring greenfield land supply in South East Queensland.