The Property Council of Australia has today released Initiatives for Canberra: Towards Canberra’s Centenary and Beyond, a major public discussion paper which identifies the key challenges facing Canberra and proposes a range of solutions.
Property Council ACT Executive Director, Catherine Carter, said: “The Property Council takes its leadership role very seriously and this document, like its predecessor in 2006, represents our efforts to address a wide range of issues which we believe need urgent attention.
“In April 2006 the Chief Minister said Canberra was living on ‘borrowed time’ and that time was running out. Two years on, to the month, and that time is still running out,” Ms Carter said.
The 2008 Initiatives for Canberra document covers issues such as:
the need for a population policy; infrastructure and infrastructure funding; housing affordability and availability; transport; tax and investment; and the revitalisation of the city.
“This is a detailed document which addresses a very wide range of important issues. Rather than just highlighting problems, we’ve also identified solutions to each of the issues raised. “The 24 recommendations, or initiatives, represent real policy responses to many of the challenges facing our city and our community. We believe these initiatives can, and should, be immediately implemented by the ACT Government.
“In five years time Canberra will celebrate its centenary. That will be a time where we can be rightly proud of all that has been achieved in the past. But it will also be a time to reflect on the sort of future we want for the city and its people.
“The decisions that are taken now will shape the Canberra of tomorrow and the Property Council, as an organisation which represents passionate Canberrans with a strong interest in seeing this city grow and prosper, believes it has a role to play in encouraging public debate about the future of the city. That is what the Initiatives for Canberra paper attempts to do.
“The Property Council looks forward to working with the ACT Government to ensure Canberra meets its full potential, and that its future is as bright as its past,” Ms Carter said.
For further information contact:
Catherine Carter, Executive Director, 02 6248 6902 or 0412 330 079
