Bringing the community with us

Today 740 people from across the industry are travelling to Cairns for The Property Congress.

This year’s Congress is our 40th – and our biggest yet.

At Congress I will be presenting a report card on our efforts over the past year. The Property Council continues to help our members connect, stay informed and skill up our industry’s future leaders. We are also doing vital work right around the country to help shape a better business environment for members.

One topic I will put on the table at Congress is the changing political and policy landscape before us and its implications for our work.

There was a day when the power and influence of business groups came from representing the top end of town. The political sell of an issue could be left to the politicians. And the community’s perceptions weren’t that important.

Those days are gone.

Increasingly, power does not only flow from the top down, but also from the bottom up. That’s why the recent Australian Financial Review ‘power list’ named “Bill and Mary of Penrith” in its top 10. The AFR’s argument is that power, influence and decisions are increasingly being driven by communities.

While ‘Bill and Mary’ are cynical and disillusioned about politics and business, they are also realistic and pragmatic. They are willing to be persuaded, because they are solution-focused and not ideological.

The good news is that every day our industry works on solutions, from housing affordability to congestion to fire safety – and we are an industry drawn from the community, employing 1.1 million Australians.

While our focus must be to create the right settings for the industry’s growth, we also need to bring the community with us. As the banks have discovered to their peril, when you lose community trust, your voice is no longer relevant. These are issues of focus for the Property Council’s board and executive team.

If you are travelling to Congress don’t forget to download The Property Congress app from Google Play or the Apple Store. 

If you can’t make it to Cairns, you can follow The Property Congress on social media with regular highlights posted on the Property Council’s Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook accounts.

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