Good policy at all levels of government is essential for our industry to keep delivering the strong economic and social benefits it provides for all Australians.
The ANZ Property Council industry confidence survey for the September quarter will be released tomorrow. We can expect to see some positive results following the federal election outcome, an RBA interest rate cut, and APRA’s review of lending standards.
However, since the survey was conducted we’ve also seen a rush of bad decisions on changes to land tax and foreign buyer surcharges in state budgets, most egregiously in Queensland and South Australia.
At the same time, almost two years of inaction by governments on the recommendations of the Shergold Weir report on building regulation and compliance is also taking its toll on building certifiers who are facing massive increases in their professional indemnity insurance premiums.
And in Western Australia – where our Executive team is meeting over the last two days – we’ve been have engaged with the Government on value capture taxes.
These are just some of the issues the Property Council is managing for members around the country at the moment.
As the leading advocate for Australia’s biggest industry and employer, we’ll be forcefully advocating to governments on the importance of better policy outcomes, not just for our industry but for all Australians.