Good growth offers “massive opportunities” for our nation, the Hon Alan Tudge told a Property Council audience on Friday as the new Good Growth Alliance promotes well-planned growth in Sydney.
Tudge, the federal minister for Cities, Urban Infrastructure and Population, reassured the packed crowd of property professionals that the Australian Government would “strike the right balance” between maximising economic growth while maintaining liveability of Australian cities.
Australia’s annual growth rate of 1.6 per cent was double the rate of the United States and nearly 2.5 times the average for OECD growth, Tudge explained.
Our three biggest urban areas – Melbourne, Sydney and South East Queensland – are absorbing 75 per cent of this growth. “Melbourne added more people last year than any other English-speaking city in the world, bar two. Only Atlanta and Houston added more people,” he said.
The challenge for governments and planners is the “unequal distribution of growth”. While some parts of the country are playing catch-up on infrastructure, other regions are “desperate to grow more rapidly”.
Tudge acknowledged the “breakdown in planning” which had created a disconnect between federal and state policies. He pointed to Sydney’s policies during the 2000s, which saw Premier Bob Carr cry ‘Sydney is full’ while Prime Minister Kevin Rudd “turbo-charged population growth” through migration policy.
The Australian Government would address this “mismatch” through a “bottom-up” approach to migration, Tudge said, and would work collaboratively with state governments to develop population plans that informed national migration settings.
Tudge’s commentary comes as Sydney’s peak industry bodies and not-for-profit leaders join forces to promote the benefits of well-planned growth in Sydney and the state.
The Property Council, the Committee for Sydney and the Sydney Business Chamber, together with the Community Housing Industry Association of NSW, Homelessness NSW and Shelter NSW, have formed the Good Growth Alliance.
The Alliance has written an open letter to the NSW Premier and NSW Leader of the Opposition to call for a sustainable plan for growth in Sydney, based on transparent, consistent and evidence-based decision-making.
The Good Growth Alliance has 10 proposals which it believes will create a better Sydney and a stronger NSW. Among these are a holding Good Growth Summit within 100 days of the 2019 NSW election, boosting housing supply, appointing a Minister for Housing, and delivering at least 5,000 additional social housing dwellings each year for the next 10 years.
The Alliance also calls for an action plan to address homelessness, a housing innovation fund and several measures to enhance infrastructure investment and planning.
“The choice in Sydney and New South Wales is not between growth and no growth, the only choice we have is between good growth and bad growth,” says Jane Fitzgerald, the Property Council’s executive director in NSW.
Fitzgerald says the Alliance is determined to “change the public conversation” to one “one about good growth that is sustainable, equitable and liveable”.
Karen Walsh, chief executive officer of Shelter NSW, says the Alliance “brings together the hearts and minds of those who cared about the future of Sydney and broader NSW”.
“Sydney’s growth presents an opportunity for us to create a world class city – and that’s not just by how it looks, but how it feels and how well we live in it,” Walsh says.
Wendy Hayhurst, chief of the Community Housing Industry Association of NSW agrees.
“By 2020, the community housing sector in NSW will deliver 2,700 homes across the state, which is almost $1 billion in investment in local communities, however, it’s not anywhere near enough if we are to make a difference to the many people throughout NSW who are paying too much of their income on housing costs.”
Homelessness in Sydney increased by 48 per cent between 2011 and 2016, adds Homelessness NSW CEO Katherine McKernan.
Sydney Business Chamber executive director Patricia Forsythe says all sectors needed to work with government to ensure housing was accessible for all.
“When we think about Sydney’s future, efficient planning regulations and a diverse mix of housing is critical to the city’s success and collaboration between housing organisations, business and government is key,” Forsythe concludes.