Triple policy play

Triple policy playHere’s three big Federal Government announcements you need to know about.Yesterday the Government slashed its economic growth projections. Instead of the rosy 3.25 per cent forecast in the May budget, the new number is 2.75 per cent.That’s a big drop.It means governments will be desperate to find ways to boost GDP. They should look closely at policies that would grow our industry, one that already employs 1.1 million Australians.Which leads us to yesterday’s second announcement: the Government’s response to the Harper competition inquiry.The Government accepted the recommendation to reinstall a ‘carrot and stick’ approach to encourage the states to reform tricky areas that have a big impact on productivity.The PM and Treasurer both went out of their way to say how important reform to planning and zoning is to housing affordability and city productivity. This is precisely the case the Property Council has been putting all year.Finally, last week Treasurer Morrison flagged his intention to review the pension assets test and stamp duty to remove barriers for older Australians to downsize their homes.This was welcome news indeed for the 430 people gathered for the Property Council’s Retirement Living Summit in Brisbane this week.Let’s see what excitement next week brings.