STATE OF PLAY: INDUSTRIAL
The Queensland Property Council welcomed over 130 attendees to a sold out event at Howard Smith Wharves to examine the future of Queensland’s Industrial sector as it recovers from COVID-19.
An expert panel featured Elena Seymour – Regional Portfolio Manager QLD for Charter Hall, Angus Campbell – Managing Director Northshore Group of Companies, and Michael Callow – National Director Industrial for Cushman & Wakefield. The discussion was moderated by Gail Black – Partner Gadens.
Stephen Conry AM – Chief Executive Officer of JLL for Australia and New Zealand and National President of the Property Council was also in attendance to provide an update of the Property Council’s advocacy activities and work in the lead up to the Queensland election.
Together the panel had lively discussion about the challenges and longer-term opportunities in the local office market as the world emerged from COVID-19. Panellists agreed that the future of industrial was strong and that the sector had been better insulated than others from the impact of the pandemic and enforced lockdowns.
Elena Seymour said that the last six months had been a steep learning curve for herself and Charter Hall. However, throughout this time Charter Hall had been working closely with tenants and focusing on strengthening commercial relationships. However, she said that the Queensland’s current foreign land tax surcharge was disincentive to growth and something future governments should review.
Angus Campbell agreed, stating that these taxes are often informally passed onto tenants and other businesses. He also reinforced that COVID had altered the way landlords interacted with tenants and strengthened relationships. Mr Campbell said it was important for future government’s to not prioritise jobs over investment as one often leads to the other.
Michael Callow talked about how the there was a role for government to play in facilitating the growth of the sector by offsetting infrastructure costs. He also spoke about the need to return to normality so companies can correctly judge the state of play and invest with certainty.
Special thanks to our Industrial State of Play sponsor PEXA.