04 December 2015
The announcement that former Sydney Lord Mayor Lucy Turnbull will head up the Greater Sydney Commission is good for Sydney but there are major challenges ahead says the Urban Taskforce.
“Lucy Turnbull has excellent credentials to lead the planning and growth of metropolitan Sydney.” Says Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson “Her background as Lord Mayor of Sydney and her interest in metropolitan wide planning auger well for ensuring the commission acts with big picture thinking.”
“The appointment of the three Commissioners for Social, Environment and Economic areas gives the Greater Sydney Commission (GSC) a good range of skills. From a property industry perspective the Economic Commissioner will be very important in ensuring economic feasibility is built into GSC decisions. Sydney dwelling prices are incredibly high and this is partly a result of slow planning systems and a lack of sufficient housing supply.”
“While the Commission has strong powers for planning we are concerned that there are a number of government agencies that are involved in planning referrals that are outside the Commissions control and this could undermine the outcomes of Commission decisions. A simple answer to this issue would be for the Commission to establish a one stop shop for agency referrals based on the Queensland model.”
“Another important focus that has not been included in the Commissions objectives is to get jobs better spread across Metropolitan Sydney. Currently most jobs are in the East requiring more than 200,000 people to commute from Western Sydney every day.”
The Urban Taskforce is keen work with Lucy Turnbull and the Greater Sydney Commission on the issues of housing affordability, jobs provision and how to reduce red tape in the complex planning system.”
