The Australian government's National Urban Policy discussion paper, Our Cities: Building a Productive, Sustainable and Liveable Future, garnered support from the Property Council of Australia.

Property Council CEO Peter Verwer said: "We applaud the government for committing itself to a national role in urban affairs."

"Our cities require national leadership and a coordinated approach from all levels of government if we are to truly create more productive, sustainable and liveable cities, " he said. "Cities are a key part of the nation-building agenda because the performance of our cities is vital to the performance of our economy and our future prosperity."

"We need a long-term plan to manage future growth and a National Urban Policy can be a key reform that boosts economic and employment growth over the decades ahead."

The Property Council has welcomed the commitment in the discussion paper to set national directions, aspirations and objectives for our cities. "We need to get our national policy settings right and it is good to see the government commit to future policy and program actions," added Verwer.

The Property Council will be watching out for the following aspects when the finalized:

  • national performance targets and annual reporting on these targets;
  • links between funding for new infrastructure and performance against COAG criteria for effective city planning;
  • integration of land use planning with infrastructure planning;
  • a new program to seed fund critical city infrastructure to act as a catalyst for investment and growth;
  • innovative funding mechanisms for infrastructure such as growth area bonds;
  • more effective land release and urban growth policies;
  • governance reforms that improve decision-making and cut red-tape; and
  • incentives to promote better urban design.

Verwer said: "All of our cities are important and we support the expansion of the policy to include 18 major cities, some in regional areas, as these communities have ambitions to be dynamic cities in their own right."