Hop, skip and a shuffle

Climate change, tax reform, housing affordability and cities policy all took a step forward in the last week, although tax was really more of a shuffle sideways.

The historic Paris agreement signed over the weekend will put pressure on governments in Australia to do more on climate change. 

Our industry has the runs on the board and is well placed to be a big part of the solution, but we will need public policies that better target the sector.  The Federal Government’s direct action centrepiece – the emissions reduction fund – simply doesn’t work for property.  

Last Friday’s COAG meeting kicked the tax reform can down the road (again).  March is now set as the drop dead date for political leaders to reach agreement otherwise the Commonwealth has said it will go it alone.

Getting rid of taxes which harm the economy benefits everyone and should be a key objective of tax reform.  And as yesterday’s mid year economic outlook shows, we need growth now more than ever.

But government leaders did support the concept of a new round of national competition policy reform. This is important if we are to achieve an incentives-based model to motivate states to tackle housing supply and affordability.

Federal cabinet also considered cities policy for the first time last week, reportedly endorsing the idea of leveraging commonwealth infrastructure funding to get better citywide outcomes. Expect a discussion paper in the new year.

The Property Council is advancing policy solutions and advocacy across all these fronts.

Powerful advocacy comes from developing the best policies with the backing of our members.

Your support has allowed us to notch up significant wins right around the country and position our industry – Australia’s biggest – on a path to grow the economy even more, for the benefit of all Australians.

For this and for all your support throughout the year, a big thank you from everyone at the Property Council.

Have a terrific and safe festive season!