23 January 2017
The election of Gladys Berejiklian as NSW Premier and of Dominic Perrottet as Deputy Leader of the NSW Liberal Party will give confidence to the property industry, says the Urban Taskforce.
“Gladys Berejiklian has an excellent track record in reforming the state’s transport system and as a very effective NSW Treasurer,” says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson. “Her election as Premier of NSW will give the property industry and the broader community confidence that the state will continue to grow and prosper under the NSW Coalition Government.”
“The election of Dominic Perrotett as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party is also a good signal that further economic reform will be on the agenda for NSW. Dominic’s handling of the Finance & Services portfolio has been outstanding, including supporting the private sector to provide efficient services in partnership with government agencies.”
“The incoming Premier has said she will review government policies and will continue the drive towards providing key transport infrastructure. It is important that NSW maintains its position as the strongest economy in Australia. There are concerns that the production of new housing is declining. It is absolutely essential that the new Premier continues to keep her eye on the ball and to support continued housing supply to address growing housing affordability concerns.”
“While currently housing completions in Sydney are around 31,000 a year, the government’s own targets set by the Department of Planning & Environment, indicate that NSW will need on average around 37,000 a year for 20 years to keep up with demand. The past few decades of housing completions have been well below what is required which has greatly exacerbated housing affordability. The last peak in housing supply was in 1971 when Sydney’s population was only 2.8 million, there were 36,000 housing completions so with a population now of 5 million people we should be well above the performance of 36 years ago. If we are only just now returning to the housing production levels of the 1970s we are badly behind and must continue to ramp up supply to catch up.”
“The Urban Taskforce is looking forward to working collaboratively with Premier Berejiklian and her new team in maintaining and supporting a strong and steady supply of housing in NSW, particularly within the Sydney Metropolitan area. We also look forward to working with the ministers of planning, infrastructure and transport, when the ministers for these key portfolios are announced.”
