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At Urban Taskforce, we seek to explore trends and changes associated with the property development and construction sector.
ULN compares and contrasts the experience of the industry across Australia. It examines urban development with a close eye on reducing red tape and costs while supporting quality and amenity.
ULN is essential reading for all those involved in urban living including politicians, councils, planners, architects, developers, financiers, legal firms, real estate agents, strata bodies. We will connect you to like minded people with new urban ideas.
Tom Forrest
CEO - Urban Taskforce Australia
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Migration Matters – Immigration and the Australian Economy
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Migrants contribute to the ‘three Ps’ of Australia’s economicgrowth–
Population growth, Participation rate and Productivity increases.
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This week, the Urban Taskforce released a new research paper titled “Migration Matters – Immigration and the economy” – prepared by BIS Oxford Economics.
The paper highlights the potential consequences of failing to restore our immigration levels to pre-COVID levels once it is safe to do so.
Under the Government’s current projections, the Report finds that the cumulative loss of migrants as a result of COVID-19 is the main component of a projected loss of 1.1 million people in our population over the next decade, relative to pre-COVID projections. This will result in a smaller workforce – estimated at 822,000 by 2024 (financial year). This, in turn, slows economic growth – estimated to be by a cumulative 4% by 2025 – reducing the size of the Australian economy by $80 billion!
The report overwhelmingly shows that migrants create jobs – they don’t take them. Migrants generate more tax revenue because of their high levels of tertiary education, income, skills and relatively low age. We need more migrants to improve the ratio of taxpayers to non-taxpayers, which is in long term decline across Australia.
Price rises for new homes have been driven by low planning approval numbers and the resultant low levels of supply. Some local councils in Greater Sydney, with an eye on the upcoming local government elections in September 2021, have used the reduced immigration during the COVID-19 period to further reduce planning targets for more housing. It is this politically expedient myopia which has created the dangerous price bubble we see today.
A reduction in the future pipeline for housing is a double whammy for the NSW and Australian economy. Lower supply will mean reduced affordability while reducing the economic growth potential for the nation.
The policy imperative must be reversed. Change the planning system to build in flexibility to cater for a rapid return of migrants to our economy, thus giving us some chance to raise the revenue needed to pay off the COVID related government debt and fund the full range of services to ensure the baby boomer generation is properly cared for as they approach their senior years.
The key is to return to the pre-COVID-19 levels of temporary and skilled migration numbers as soon as safely possible. The economic imperative is so great, pro-active measures should be considered to safely restore migration numbers.
This research document will be formally launched at a function on 19 May by the Minister for Immigration, Hon Alex Hawke MHR; Australia’s most successful migrant property developer, Harry Triguboff AO; and BIS Oxford Economics Chief Economist, Sarah Hunter.
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Click here to read the Urban Ideas research document on Migration Matters.
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Click here to read the Urban Taskforce media release. accompanying the ‘soft’ launch of the document.
Click here to read print media reporting on the release of the paper
Click here to listen to the metropolitan and regional radio coverage on the release of the paper.
Click here to access details on how to attend the formal launch of the document with the Minister for Immigration, Hon Alex Hawke MHR; Australia’s most successful migrant property developer, Harry Triguboff AO; and BIS Oxford Economics Chief Economist, Sarah Hunter on 19 May.
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COMMSEC Report a wake-up call for NSW
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No horses were injured in the creation of this image.
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The NSW economy is lagging. NSW is ranked 7th by CommSec (only the Northern Territory is behind NSW).
While NSW is ranked 3rd on construction activity, it is 7th on new building starts. On economic growth, NSW is ranked last – along with Victoria (where they suffered a much more draconian and extended lockdown). This is a real problem.
The NSW Government oversaw a slowdown of planning approvals well before COVID-19. The construction work that is happening now is the result of approvals given in 2017-2018. The planning system ground to a halt at the end of 2019 and stayed there in 2020. That is why NSW is ranked last in terms of the states on new building starts. That is bad news for NSW. The property development and construction industry represents 10% of the NSW economy.
The NSW economy represents about one third of the economy of all of Australia. If NSW is struggling, the Australia struggles.
There has been a plethora of welcome announcements relating to reform of the planning system throughout COVID-19. But the data does not lie. Announcements do not represent reform or improvement.
Housing prices are rising rapidly, not just in Sydney, but even this has not seen any strong push for Councils to approve more new homes faster.
The theory was: the Greater Sydney Commission would independently set the targets after consultation with Councils, based on a realistic and reasonable assessment of each Council’s Local Strategic Planning Statement. This would be balanced by the GSC across the Districts of Greater Sydney to ensure there would be enough new homes to meet demand. If Councils did not respond, the Minister, we were assured, would step in.
That was before Ku-ring-gai Council flagrantly rejected the GSC housing targets, soon followed by Ryde, Hornsby, Waverley and Willoughby Councils.
The Minister has not “stepped in” (almost certainly because of pending Council elections in September this year). Councils have not sped up their processes. Approval numbers remain low. New home prices are rising. Tax incentives have created demand stimulus – but there has been very little to assist with the supply of new homes.
NSW has suffered most from the cut off to immigration – with population growth in this State being the lowest in the nation. Taking a pro-active (but COVID safe) approach to restoring temporary and skilled migration numbers as soon as possible is critical to economic recovery.
Urban Taskforce Australia urges swift action from State and Commonwealth parliaments:
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Take urgent steps to boost housing supply across NSW and Australia
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Target tax incentives at the delivery (supply) of new housing
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Restore immigration numbers (safely) to boost economic growth in NSW and across Australia.
Click here to read the latest COMMSec State of the States report.
Click here to listen to Urban Taskforce CEO Tom Forrest comments on the latest COMMSec report on Radio 2SM.
Click here to listen to Urban Taskforce CEO Tom Forrest comments on the latest COMMSec report on ABC Radio.
Click here to read Urban Taskforce CEO’s comments on the COMMSec report as published in the Urban Developer.
Click here to read Urban Taskforce CEO’s comments on the COMMSec report as published in QLD Property Investor.
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Design and Place SEPP Update
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This morning’s Urban Taskforce member session
with the NSW Government Architect.
(Left to right) Abbie Galvin - NSW Government Architect,
Tom Forrest – Urban Taskforce CEO, Rebecca Hiscock – Senior Associate Allens.
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This morning the NSW Government Architect Abbie Galvin presented to Urban Taskforce memnbers on the devlopment of the draft Design and Place SEPP. The industry morning tea was kindly hosted by Urban Taskforce member and leading law firm Allens Linklaters.
The NSW Government Architect , Ms Abbie Galvin gave an articulate presentation with which there is much to agree. However the key point of difference is the EIE document’s failure to measure the impact of any change proposed against the cost of implementation (either through incresed costs or loss of yield). Nonetheless, Urban Taskforce sincerely thanks Abbie Galvin for making herself availaible and for her commitemnt to ongoing consultation.
The Urban Taskforce looks forward to actively contributing to the additional industry engagagement to further develop and improve the SEPP. In the meantime, we will continue to advocate to Government for greater consideration of the economic consequences of decision making across the planning system.
Click here to read the Urban Taskforce submission to the Design and Place SEPP EIE.
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DPIE releases draft Strategic Guide to Planning for Natural Hazards in NSW
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This new draft, State-wide guideline intends to inform the preparation of regional, district and local strategic plans, planning proposals and other strategic planning activities with regards to natural hazards considerations. The draft guideline refers to natural hazards identified as “posing a high or extreme risk to NSW” which comprises:
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bushfire
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coastal hazards including coastal erosion
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drought
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earthquake
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east coast low
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flood
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heatwave
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landslide
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storm
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tsunami
DPIE states the draft guideline:
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sets out eight guiding principles to inform land use planning decisions and manage natural hazard risk
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identifies the natural hazards relevant to NSW that should be considered through strategic planning of places
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explains key concepts related to natural hazard risk management
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discusses at a high level, the connection to existing policies, acts, regulations, guidelines and responsibilities.
The Urban Taskforce will be reviewing the exhibited documents and consulting with members prior to formulating a response.
Submissions are invited until 8th June 2021.
The exhibited documents can be accessed here.
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City of Sydney exhibits a draft Greening Sydney Strategy
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The City of Sydney is exhibiting a draft Greening Sydney Strategy.
The vision of the Strategy is “for a greener Sydney that will help improve our health and wellbeing, reduce urban heat impacts, and bring nature into the city” to which Council then sets out a strategy to deliver this vision via 6 Directions being:
Direction 1 – Turn grey to green – includes a target of increasing overall green cover to 40% across the local area, including a minimum of 27% tree canopy by 2050 and an increase to the green cover on ‘property’ to 28%.
Direction 2 – Greening for all
Direction 3 – Cool and calm spaces
Direction 4 – Greener buildings – includes encouraging greener buildings through a green factor score, updating the green roof and wall policy, and planning controls.
Direction 5 – Nature in the City - includes strengthening urban nature protection measures in planning controls.
Direction 6 – Greening together
On first review, it appears the actions in the draft Greening Sydney Strategy have the capacity to impact the cost and feasibility of undertaking development in the City of Sydney.
The Urban Taskforce has never opposed greater public open space, improved tree canopy cover and greater sustainability in the buildings delivered for the growing population. In fact, Urban Taskforce welcomed the NSW Public Spaces Program and further, we called for (and publicly welcomed) the decision by the Government to effectively expand that funding through the budget process in November last year.
The question is: who pays? Urban Taskforce argues that it is not fair to burden new home buyers and employment creators with the full cost of greening our cities. That is why we warmly welcomed the decision of Government to provide an allocation from consolidated revenue for this purpose. This spreads the cost of ‘greening’ across all taxpayers and reduces the additional costs effectively added to the price of new homes and workplaces.
It is manifestly unfair to burden new home buyers with the burden of fixing (or working up for) the public policy failures of the past. All tax payers should fund those worthy imperatives, not those who seek to deliver more housing and in so doing, reduce pressure on housing affordability.
The draft City of Sydney Greening strategy is on public exhibition until 5pm 24 May 2021.
Click here to access the suite of exhibition package for the draft Greening Sydney Strategy.
Click here to read the Urban Taskforce media release welcoming the Public Spaces Program.
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Proposed amendment to the Infrastructure SEPP – Upper Canal and Warragamba pipeline corridors
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Location of the Upper Canal and Warragamba Pipelines
Image: WaterNSW
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DPIE has released for public comment a draft amendment to the Infrastructure SEPP “to safeguard the integrity of the Upper Canal and Warragamba Pipelines - Sydney’s bulk water supply infrastructure”.
The draft amendment proposes changes to the State Environmental Planning Policy (Infrastructure) 2007 (the Infrastructure SEPP) to:
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identify infrastructure corridors around the Upper Canal and the two Warragamba Pipelines
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introduce a new clause that triggers consideration of the WaterNSW Guidelines for Development Adjacent to the Upper Canal and Warragamba Pipelines for new developments within and adjacent to the corridor.
The proposed amendments will add infrastructure protection as a consideration in the determination of developments that may impinge on bulk water supply infrastructure. Those proposing to develop within the canal/pipeline corridors will need to consult the WaterNSW Guidelines for Development Adjacent to the Upper Canal and Warragamba Pipelines when preparing a development application.
The provisions do not result in the prohibition of any development.
The proposed amendment, outlined in the EIE, is on exhibition until 24 May 2021.
The relevant documents can be accessed here.
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Masterplan Options for West Ryde Town Centre on public exhibition
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Area covered by and current use of the West Ryde Town Centre options report
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Ryde Council has prepared Masterplan Options on the back of earlier engagement on “ideas to revitalise” the West Ryde Town Centre.
Two options to guide future amendments to the Ryde LEP via a planning proposal include:
“Option 1- Key Sites Only - focuses on the delivery of change within the West Ryde Town Centre from the redevelopment of a few key sites that are likely to be redeveloped (or ‘turn over’) in the short-medium term as the site conditions (i.e., size, location, street frontage, and dimensions), ownership, and costs make it more viable for development.
Option 2 – Long Term Change - proposes to deliver gradual change resulting in a consistent built form over the long term across the West Ryde Town Centre. This option proposes to deliver some increase in height and density on select sites to encourage greater growth and public benefit across the town centre.”
The public exhibition of the options concludes Friday 14 May 2021.
Click here to access the relevant documents.
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Building Commissioner releases new Project Remediate video
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Project Remediate is a three-year program to help remove combustible cladding on an estimated 225 buildings known to the NSW Building Commissioner’s Cladding Taskforce.
Under the program eligible building owners will be helped through:
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interest free loans over a 10-year period with repayments to commence upon completion of the work
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assurance and project management services to provide technical and practical support to owners’ corporations and strata managing agents
Project Remediate is a voluntary program.
The Office of the NSW Building Commissioner has released a new video on its website –specifically targeted to owners’ corporations and strata managers.
To view the new video and to find out more about Project Remediate click here.
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APRA clarifies when to classify rural properties as “Commercial property and income producing real estate”
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The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has published a frequently asked
question (FAQ) for authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) to clarify when an ADI rural
exposure needs to be classified as commercial property and income producing real estate.
APRA states that it “is appropriate to treat rural exposures as commercial property exposures where both of these conditions are met:
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the property has been acquired specifically for lease or resale, and
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the servicing of the debt is dependent on such lease or resale. “
The full FAQ is available on the APRA website here.
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Melrose Park North Planning Proposal on public exhibition
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The Melrose Park North Planning Proposal comprises three individual planning proposals that have been combined and supported by a site specific DCP and Planning Agreement.
The documents are on public exhibition until 5pm Monday 24th May and can be accessed here.
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The Mill
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Watch this space ...
A prominent Urban Taskforce member is likely to be signing a contract with an international hotel chain soon.
This is good news and shows the economy is at least kicking in the Central River City.
New leadership confimed at Cameron Brae
Cameron Brae Group, a leading private land in South-West Sydney and highly-regarded Urban Taskforce members, today announced the appointment of Winton Anton and Tim Gavan as Co-CEOs effective immediately.
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ALAND's ground-breaking 6 tower proposal in Campbelltown set to be determined ...
Daily Telegraph April 29
Woolworths gears up for digital deliveries with robotic Sydney warehouse … read more …
Sydney Morning Herald April 27
Stockland sees new home buyer motivation beyond government stimulus … read more …
Urban.com.au April 22
FJMT designs plans for city edge development at Hyde Park … read more …
Architecture AU April 26
Sales skyrocket at the 43 storey The Landmark at St Leonards designed by A+ Design Group … read more …
Urban.com.au April 28
Sekisui House Australia launches Shavida - their new home building brand … read more …
Architecture and Design April 26
Convenient amenities on offer in Wingate's Bloom Arncliffe apartments … read more …
Urban.com.au April 28
Plans, designed by SJB, are lodged for two 20 storey cliff like towers in Alexandria … read more …
Architecture AU April 29
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