Three priorities for new NSW Premier
01 February 2017
Property Council: The new NSW Premier Gladys
Berejiklian must tackle three priorities – housing affordability,
economic growth and infrastructure delivery – says the Property
Council’s executive director Jane Fitzgerald.
Berejiklian (pictured) has been unanimously elected leader of the NSW
Liberal Party following a party room meeting on Monday morning, and will
be sworn in as the state's 45th Premier.
Finance Minister Dominic Perrottet was elected deputy Liberal leader and
is tipped to take on the role of Treasurer in a forthcoming ministerial
reshuffle.
Speaking at a press conference after her election, Berejiklian declared
housing affordability the “biggest issue” people have across the state.
Boosting housing supply was "the best way to address housing
affordability”, she said, adding that she would be “open-minded” when
seeking the advice of “people outside the government, outside the
bureaucracy, outside elected officials to support us in that”.As a
former transport and infrastructure minister, Berejiklian has experience
working with the property sector, and her appointment has been welcomed
by the Property Council of Australia.
“Three key priorities must be top of the new government’s ‘to do’ list:
addressing housing affordability, boosting economic growth, and locking
in infrastructure delivery,” says Property Council NSW executive
director Jane Fitzgerald.
Fitzgerald says the NSW economy is strong, and the local property
industry is building more homes than anywhere else in Australia.
Industry confidence is buoyant, with the latest ANZ/Property Council
Survey, released two weeks ago, finding industry sentiment in NSW leads
the nation at 149 index points, up from 142 last quarter.
But Fitzgerald cautions that “residential sentiment is softening” and
the new Premier must focus on “turbo-charging supply”.
“We need at least 725,000 houses by 2036 and we won’t reach this figure
unless we unlock more land and reform the planning system,” she says.
The Property Council wants to see code assessments extended and
bottlenecks in the planning system removed to ensure more homes can be
built quicker, Fitzgerald adds.
“The foreign investment tax must also be reformed – as it stands, it is
a tax on housing supply and will push up prices further as it starts to
bite. The new Premier should make an immediate contribution to improving
affordability by confining the tax to final purchasers, not home
suppliers.”
Fitzgerald says Berejiklian has a strong background in economic
management which “bodes well”.
“With record levels of stamp duty revenue being generated and the state
well in the black, a stamp duty cut should be given serious
consideration,” Fitzgerald says.
“Stamp duty currently adds about $40,000 to the price of a Sydney home,
worsening the housing affordability crisis and dampening economic
growth.”
Speaking at his press conference, Baird said infrastructure was the
“hallmark” of his government, with the $9.6 billion Sydney Metro rail,
the $16.8 billion Westconnex road project and the $2.1 billion light
rail among those underway.
Fitzgerald says the Baird-led a government focused on tackling
challenging reforms and delivering much needed investment in
infrastructure. She cites the “record breaking investment” as a result
of asset recycling, and a transport system which will “transform and
support a growing Sydney” among his greatest achievements.
The property industry looks forward to working with the Berejiklian
Government to “build a stronger NSW” Fitzgerald says, and to ensure a
“pipeline of infrastructure meets the needs of our growing population
and provides the homes, jobs and opportunities we need in the 21st
century.”
--ENDS--
Source: Property Council - www.propertycouncil.com.au
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