Queensland Election Wrap

Although the final result of Saturday’s extraordinary Queensland election is still unknown, the prospect of Labor forming government remains a likely outcome. Therefore it is timely to look in detail at the ALP’s plan for Queensland, and what this means for the property industry.

During the election the Property Council asked both major political parties to support our plan for Brighter Communities and a Stronger Economy. You can see the ALP’s response to this campaign here. You can see the LNP’s response here.

 

 

While the ALP’s campaign was criticised in the media for being ‘policy light’ the fact is that a number of commitments were made that will shape a Queensland ALP government’s agenda and impact the property industry.

 

Asset Sales/Leasing

The central pillar of the ALP’s bid for government was that they would not sell public assets. It is clear that the ALP would therefore not privatise the assets that were central to the LNP government’s Strong Choices campaign. However what is less clear is what this would mean for the disposal of excess government land. In particular, it is it is unclear if the Government Land Asset Management (GLAM) program- which has been methodically identifying excess government land and bringing it to market- would also be scrapped.

Planning

In response to the Property Council’s election advocacy, the ALP confirmed that they “will not seek to replace, rename and politicise good planning reforms as happened under the Newman Government. We remain committed to assisting and working closely with both local governments and the property industry on planning reform.” In the same correspondence, the ALP confirmed they were not intending to make changes to the State Assessment Referral Agency (SARA), the State Planning Policy (SPP) and the infrastructure charges framework.

However, the status of the overarching planning reform agenda, including the new Planning and Development Bill, is uncertain. The Property Council will strongly encourage the ALP not to abandon this reform if they are successful in winning government.

The ALP’s position on regional planning is less clear, although indications are that there is support for the Property Council’s call for stronger and more comprehensive regional plans.

No commitments have been made in relation to other key legislation including environmental offsets, vegetation management and coastal planning.

Tax

The ALP’s fiscal strategy included a firm commitment to “no new or increased taxes, fees and charges.” This is positive news for the property industry with real estate specific taxes already totalling 29% of State taxes.

In response to the Property Council’s election advocacy, the ALP also committed to working with stakeholders as the Federal tax reform agenda unfolds. Unfortunately, the ALP did not commit to stopping the abuse of the rating system by councils.

Infrastructure

The ALP’s position on asset leasing means they did not make extensive infrastructure commitments during the campaign. The only major financial commitment made during the election campaign was new funds to replace the Royalties for the Regions fund. These funds will be quarantined for local governments and total $200m over two years.

The future of the Local Government Co-Investment Fund is unknown. This fund was introduced as part of the infrastructure charges reform package. Some funds for the 2014-15 financial year have been committed already, however the fund is not fully subscribed for this year. It is unknown whether an ALP government would continue to take applications for funding this year. The LNP intended that future funding for this program would come from asset sales.

The future of ‘fair value’ infrastructure charges is unknown as this schedule of charges is linked to the co-investment fund. However the ALP’s commitment not to change the infrastructure charges framework should mean that this schedule remains, but without a co-investment fund there will be no incentive for local governments to adopt these charges.

The ALP have made it clear that their preference was for the original Cross River Rail proposal to address limitations in the inner-city rail network, rather than the LNP’s revised BaT proposal. Therefore this project’s future is also unclear.

The ALP’s central infrastructure policy commitment was the establishment of ‘Building Queensland’. This would be an independent statutory authority that would take responsibility for long-term infrastructure planning. They have committed to producing an infrastructure plan within one year of forming government. ‘Building Queensland’ would also assess business cases for projects over $m proposed by government departments.

Major Projects

Over the past three years the LNP government courted a number of major projects across the state, in particular new integrated resorts. The ALP has publicly stated that it does not support the proposed integrated resort and cruise ship terminal in the Gold Coast Broadwater.

The ALP’s position on the Queens Wharf redevelopment in Brisbane’s CBD is unclear.

The ALP did not support the development of the 1 William Street office tower, although as this project is now well underway, it will continue. However, the ALPs broader office accommodation strategy – including regionalisation – is unknown.

Other commitments

The ALP has committed to establishing a ‘Construction, Planning and Property Red Tape Reduction Panel’. While there are few details on this initiative, this may provide an opportunity for a continued focus on planning reform.

Importantly for the retirement villages sector, the ALP has committed to an ‘Advisory Taskforce on the Residential Transition for Ageing Queenslanders’. In addition to this, the ALP has committed to a Cabinet Minister for Seniors.

Finally, the ALP has committed to only having 14 Cabinet Ministers. Therefore it is unclear where the key portfolios of planning and infrastructure will sit.

The Property Council is committed to working with whichever party ultimately forms Government in Queensland. The property industry provides the best prospect for economic growth in Queensland, and we will be focused on ensuring the next Queensland Government implements policies that enable the industry to deliver on this potential.