Twelve months have passed since coronavirus changed from something on the other side of the world with a peculiar name to something that disrupted everything.
A year ago this week, the federal government announced its initial $17.6 billion stimulus package aimed at warding off recession. It seemed momentous at the time but, 12 months on, the tally of direct Commonwealth economic support now surpasses $251 billion.
At this point last year, the Property Council was cancelling our Japan study tour – scheduled for later in March – but we held out hope that our other conferences, study tours and events program could resume within months.
Nobody knew what the impact or duration of this pandemic would be or what cost it would have for our businesses, the economy, or our public health.
Australia’s response has been the envy of the world and our industry should be proud of the role it has played over the last 12 months. We’ve adapted to changing operating environments. We’ve grappled with rushed and onerous regulatory changes. We’ve fallen into, and pulled ourselves out of, a national recession.
Our building owners have provided significant relief to struggling tenants and our residential members have been the heroes of Australia’s economic recovery.
While it’s interesting to reflect on the year that has been, it is clear that there is more hard work ahead of us.
As support and stimulus measures such as JobKeeper and HomeBuilder draw to a close, the Property Council is advocating for a renewed focus from governments on the core components that drive long-term growth and productivity.
We are leading the national debate on the reactivation of our CBDs as the centres of our economic productivity and the resumption of COVID-safe overseas migration as the secret to our national prosperity.
By next March, all Australians should have been vaccinated. The Property Council is working to ensure that our economy also receives a couple of shots in the arm and is in excellent shape a year from today.