Article: Powerful planning group demands greater federal government involvement

[ozbob]

News.com.au --> Powerful planning group demands greater federal government involvement in fixing city woes

A MINISTER for Cities should be appointed by Prime Minister Tony Abbott, a powerful combination of developers and planners will demand in a report this week.

The Coalition government has ministers directly charged with managing regional development, and even the arts and sport. But nobody in the ministry — certainly not at the cabinet level — specifically deals with the economic and lifestyle problems of the capital cities, where two in three Australians live and which generate 80 per cent of our gross domestic product.

Those problems include congested roads, scarce public transport in some areas, and big distances between homes and essential facilities and jobs.

The report will be presented by the Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC), whose members include the Property Council, the Institute of Architects, the Planning Institute and Engineers Australia.

The ASBEC is supported by a cross-party parliamentary friendship group for better cities, and the Council of Capital City Lord Mayors.

The report will urge federal-led action on such city-based matters as:

● The shift to public transport and "active travel" such as cycling. More than 11.5 million bicycles were sold between 2001 and 2010 — 2 million more than the number of cars sold

● The economic importance of cities as providers of education, information and other services. The report says service industries now employ 85 per cent of Australians

● Ways to manage the massive energy consumption of cities more than 60 per cent of total demand, through transport, cooling and heating buildings and running manufacturing

● Designing cities to boost health and wellbeing of Australians by encouraging active transport, liveable streets and high-quality open spaces;

● Removing the gap between housing supply and demand, which stands at a shortfall of 228,000 new homes.

The report will urge the creation of an annual, transparent index of the performance of cities in critical areas.

It recommends that "through a Minister for Cities, the Australian Government lead the development of an intergovernmental agreement with the states and territories supporting: better data collection and research to understand our cities; evidence-based investment to drive productivity; new financing arrangements that leverage the strengths of every sphere of government helping to deliver more productive, liveable and sustainable cities".

The report says cities and urban communities "represent the economic drivers of the nation: providing homes for millions, delivering and exporting our goods and services, creating jobs, providing centres of cultural and social exchange and a door to the rest of the world".

"As we grapple with the challenges of climate change, an ageing and growing population, congestion, urban expansion, housing affordability, cost of living pressures and social marginalisation of minority groups, it is important we do not simply maintain the status-quo," the report states.

"It is timely to take stock, to consider what next steps should be taken. Priorities need to be set, and a plan for action, which will realise a positive future for our cities must take priority."

[SurfRail]

Funnily enough we did have a Major Cities Unit prior to Septembr 2013...

[#Metro]

It does not have a Federal justification.

(Creation of an index is ok though - "The report will urge the creation of an annual, transparent index of the performance of cities in critical areas.")

Australian Government is good at things that need to be consistent across the entire country like immigration, defence, corporations law, national roads, international treaties. It is also useful when more than one state or territory is involved and things could get messy- national rail network, water rights for rivers that cross multiple boundaries.

This is why I do not favour federal funds for Gold Coast Light Rail, but favour federal involvement in the Sunshine Coast Line upgrade.

Individual cities already have a minister - the city mayor and the council that goes behind the mayor. Some of these councils are rather small (Melbourne, Perth) which limits funding, while others are large (Brisbane, Auckland NZ). Restructuring local government could address the funding issues with the smaller councils.

A second layer is State Government. Capital cities are usually the single largest city in the state or territory and State Governments thus pour a lot of time and resources into maintaining them.

Why is this group calling for Federal funding? Because that's where the money is.
States and Territories need to get their own funding source so they can be accountable to their own constituents instead of running off to Canberra every time they want to fund something. The involvement of Canberra has added an extra layer of authority, approvals and opportunity where a project can fall down.

There needs to be lower tax at the Federal level so that Land taxes (State rates) can be raised. People pay council rates based on land tax all the time for council upkeep of services; the concept can be extended to pay for state services such as local state schools, state hospitals, emergency services, state infrastructure etc.