Catherine Carter |
Monday, 9 August 2010 1:00 AM |
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Among the many things humans have in common is our dependence on the built environment: we live in man-made structures, we travel using man-made infrastructure, we meet in man-made meeting places and we trade in man-made marketplaces.
Of course, the sophistication of these places varies, but we all use the built environment one way or another.
During election time, we have a right to ask our politicians what they are planning to do with the built environment to make it economically and ecologically sustainable.
How they are preparing for future changes in demand and what they are doing to ensure that our future environment enhances and serves the community inhabiting it.
The majority of this country’s economic activity is carried on in cities, and while the State and Territories have the right to represent their constituencies, as they have been elected to do, the Commonwealth also has a responsibility to ensure the Australian built environment is as it should be.
If cities lose their economic viability, so does Australia. So it is a national issue to keep our cities healthy, and that means planning for the future.
A new Property Council briefing paper on the important issues for the Federal election recommends the appointment of Minister for Urban Affairs and Population who can, for example, relate immigration policy population targets according to economic criteria.
Considering that economic criteria have been used to justify calls for greater populations, smaller populations and static populations, it seems only sensible to consider them when deciding immigration policy.
The paper also calls for Commonwealth help with the housing affordability crisis by addressing the chronic land shortage.
COAG agreed on a set of criteria for city planning in 2009. It’s time the States and Territories used these criteria in their city planning. We suggest that infrastructure funding be tied to compliance with these criteria.
And it would be helpful at the more grassroots level to tie funding to other issues, such as the speed of assessing development applications.
Catherine Carter |
Monday, 9 August 2010 1:00 AM |
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