Ian Barnett from Parsons Brinckerhoff and David Bergin from DPCD discuss the morning’s topics. 54692
By Mara Pattison-Sowden
THE next decade in Australia could be held accountable as the modesties, according to planning experts.
Victoria needs to invest more in transport, health and education infrastructure because experts believe there’s no stopping the population growth, but households will have to spend less.
Healesville played host to a party of developers and economists last week in a bid to explore how to plan for Australia’s growing population.
Ten experts who spoke at the Urban Development Institute of Australia (UDIA) state conference, held at the RACV Healesville Country Club last Friday, 8 October, all had words of caution for planners, developers and everyday Australians.
Although Victoria has come out of the global recession relatively unscathed compared to other states, the experts said affordability would decrease and people would soon be spending less and saving more.
Gordon Noble, the Committee for Melbourne deputy CEO, said Melbourne could get better as it gets bigger.
“We are going to grow because we’re a good place for business and to live,” he said.
“The issue is not to say ‘we’re full’ as Sydney did, but to plan our growth.”
St George Bank chief economist Justin Smirk agreed with Noble, and said of Sydney: “if you don’t build it, they will still come”.
Mr Smirk said Victoria should not be “smug” about its economic state because household debt was Victoria’s problem.
“The cost will fall on the household sector, they will have to save more and spend less,” he said.
Planning Minister Justin Madden told the group although Victoria had outperformed other states, “we do have to be conscious of a double recession”.
Mr Madden spoke about the need to review and improve planning legislation and VicUrban’s new mandate to supply more housing along major public transport hubs and around town centres.
“We would like VicUrban to accumulate land, consolidate it, get permits and put it out to the market – just assembling the land to assist the development community,” he said.
“We want to maintain Victoria’s competitive edge as an economic powerhouse and a better place to live.”
Michael Matusik, from Matusik Property Insight, said although there was no doubt the population would continue to grow, planners needed to have more understanding about what the market wanted, not what they wanted to give it.
Mr Matusik said most development still took place in the outer suburbs, which were perceived to be “value for money”.
The challenge, he said, were the middle suburbs where older households were sitting on larger properties but hadn’t been given the incentives to move and make way for higher density living.
