16 May 2010
Calls today by a government bureaucrat to stop development from devouring agricultural land were misguided, according to the Urban Taskforce.
The Taskforces chief executive, Aaron Gadiel, said that in 2009 less new houses were approved for Sydney (7,000) than in Melbourne (24,000), Perth (13,000) or Brisbane (9,000).
The dream of owning a house with a backyard is slipping away for far too many people, Mr Gadiel said.
Renters are the canary in the coalmine and rent figures tell us how severe Sydneys shortage of houses with backyards really is.
Outer suburban rents, for three bedroom homes, have increased at close to 10 per cent a year for each of the last five years.
The last thing we need is further restrictions on urban development on the edge of our cities.
Mr Gadiel said that Sydneys fruit and vegetable consumption would not be significantly affected by urban expansion.
85 per cent of Sydneys vegetable consumption is supplied from outside the Sydney region, Mr Gadiel said.
Most vegetables produced in NSW come from the Murray and the Murrumbidgee regions, not Sydney.
Sydneys vegetable production accounts for 3.5 per cent of Australias production.
Sydney fruit production represents just 5 to 7 per cent of Sydney’s total annual fruit consumption.
Sydney produces 1.2 per cent of Australia’s total fruit output.
Mr Gadiel said that Sydney region vegetable growers are facing viability problems.
Their farms are small – an average of 2 hectares – compared with the national average of 33 hectares.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics says that for every dollar invested, a large farm gives five times the financial return of a small farm.
A government study found that food production on the urban fringe is less important for NSW, than any other state bar Western Australia.
Mr Gadiel said that the Department of Primary Industries had previously flagged that there were issues with the water supply for Sydney-based vegetable farms.
Many depend on farm dams and potable water supply via Sydney Waters network, he said.
Mr Gadiel said that many people value local food production.
But most people consider food ˜local if its produced in the same country, he said.
Mr Gadiel said that the larger farms operating away from urban areas can offer ecology of scale, which means the environmental footprint of their operations can be smaller per tonne of vegetables they produce.
For example, larger agricultural farms connected to efficient transport systems can deliver produce at a lower carbon intensity than smaller farms, he said.
The Urban Taskforce is a property development industry group, representing Australias most prominent property developers and equity financiers.
The construction activity made possible by property developers contributes $78 billion to the national economy each year and creates 849,000 direct jobs.
