I am delighted to announce that yesterday a new Property Council national president was elected with David Harrison, Charter Hall’s Managing Director and Group CEO, stepping up to the plate.
David will be very ably supported by new vice presidents, GPT’s Bob Johnston and Brookfield’s Sophie Fallman. In an historic milestone, our new board now enjoys a 50:50 gender balance for the first time.
David takes the reigns from immediate past president Stephen Conry AM, who provided remarkable leadership over a term with more than the usual challenges.
The Property Council greatly benefits from having a board of national and local industry leaders, bringing together the diverse sectors, geographies and companies that make up our membership.
The election is coming as we are reminded that COVID-19 has not gone away. Brisbane’s snap lockdown has demonstrated what we already knew – that disruptions will continue, and that our recovery cannot be taken for granted.
As we look to the challenges that will face the industry during the tenure of our new board, we know that our economic resurgence can only be sustained by restoring the key foundations of growth that have served Australia well over many decades.
The Property Council will continue to be a vocal advocate for a COVID-safe resumption of net overseas migration as the fuel that drives our growth and the reactivation of CBDs as the incubators of economic activity.
With stimulus and support measures winding down, our city centres need to be driving the next stage of economic recovery. The Property Council’s office occupancy survey, released yesterday, has found that our CBDs are reactivating but we have a long way to go.
This morning, the Property Council and EY have launched a new ‘global playbook’ for CBD revival. We have taken the new data, research, and insights from business leaders, city shapers and CBD users to produce Reimagining our economic powerhouses: How to turn CBDs into central experience districts.
We trust this paper will help spark further discussion and collaboration between CBD stakeholders to use the opportunity to reinvent our city centres and make them bigger and better than ever.