University of Tasmania Vice-Chancellor Rufus Black appointed to Urban Policy Forum

University of Tasmania Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rufus Black, has been appointed to a high-powered urban advisory body established by the Albanese government. DETAILS >

UTAS Vice Chancellor Rufus Black at the universities city student accommodation facility. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

University of Tasmania Vice-Chancellor, Professor Rufus Black, has been appointed to the federal government’s new high-powered forum to help supercharge Australian cities.

The Urban Policy Forum will advise the Albanese government on planning, property, design and sustainability, focusing on innovative approaches to revitalising cities and suburbs.

Prof Black is one of 13 luminaries to be appointed to the group, which also includes Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp and former NSW Infrastructure, Cities and Active Transport Minister Rob Stokes.

The forum will be chaired by Professor Barbara Norman, who is the Director of Canberra Urban and Regional Futures at the University of Canberra.

With extensive experience in public policy and strategy development, Prof Black has particular interest in the areas of education, sustainability and innovation.

UTAS Vice Chancellor Rufus Black at the old Forestry building in Hobart

He pointed to the new UTAS campus at Inveresk in Launceston as an example of an innovative synthesis of education, heritage, sustainable construction and community.

“We have co-designed our Inveresk campus with and for the community. Being part of a shared precinct offers a unique opportunity to consider how our presence connects to the existing heritage and history of the place, to the city and region and its people,” Prof Black said.

“Getting urban policy right is a vital part of creating a sustainable future for Australia and I’m delighted to have the opportunity to make a contribution to this important national advisory body.”

The establishment of the Urban Policy Forum was announced in the 2023-24 federal budget, in which the government also confirmed it would develop the first detailed national urban policy in over a decade.

The government is setting up a new Cities and Suburbs Unit to deliver the policy and will release regular State of the Cities reports, providing analysis of life in the nation’s biggest urban centres.

Catherine King, Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development of Australia during Question Time in the House of Representatives in Parliament House in Canberra. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gary Ramage

Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Minister Catherine King said the Urban Policy Forum would put “experts back at the heart of our cities and urban policy”.

“This group of professionals will make a real contribution to the Commonwealth’s revitalised approach to urban policy, bringing expertise in the urgent challenges facing our cities and suburbs,” she said.

“The people who call our suburbs home deserve cities that work for them – from affordable housing, access to jobs and services, efficient transport networks and better designed neighbourhoods.”

Originally published as University of Tasmania Vice-Chancellor Rufus Black appointed to Urban Policy Forum