8 August 2011
The Federal Government shouldnt be advancing plans to recognise local councils in the Australian Constitution while those same councils are busily contributing to the nations housing undersupply, according to the Urban Taskforce.
The Federal Government today appointed the members of the independent expert panel that will progress the recognition of local government in the Australian Constitution. The Government says it will hold a national referendum on the recognition of local government in the Australian Constitution during the term of the current government or at the next Federal election.
The Urban Taskforces chief executive, Aaron Gadiel, said that the Federal Government should address the problems created by local government, before it commences an arcane discussion about their recognition in the Constitution.
This issue shouldnt be a priority right now, Mr Gadiel said.
Australias housing shortfall is at 200,000 homes, with a projection for it to grow to 308,000 by 2014.
Just 42 per cent of homes sold Australia-wide are affordable to moderate-income households.
According to a recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), report Australias new housing supply does not respond to price signals in the same way that it does in other countries of a similar population density.
For example, the United States housing supply is four times more responsive to price signals than its Australian equivalent, Mr Gadiel said.
Sweden, Denmark, Canada, Japan and Finland also all enjoy new home supply that is at least twice as responsive to changes in home prices, than Australia.
Mr Gadiel said that local councils have played a major role in blocking new housing supply, and making housing less accessible to a wide range of ordinary Australians.
Local councils in Australia deliver less services, are smaller, and more parochial than local government authorities in other parts of the developed world, Mr Gadiel said.
Many have been captured by not-in-my-backyard groups, and are acting against the interests of the wider community. Local councils should earn their place in the Australian Constitution.
Entrenching the existing system of local government by constitutional amendment will permanently lock-in our current housing supply problems.
The Federal Government should focus on resolving the more substantial issues, before local government is rewarded in this way.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
