Urban Development Institute calls on state government to make Victoria the ‘homeowner state’
Developers are calling on the Andrews Government to support migration and cut planning red tape to make houses more affordable, and a new report is urging swift stimulation of a construction and development industry to create jobs.
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Boosting immigration and slashing planning red tape are vital to Victoria becoming the “homeowner state”, says a key lobby group.
The Urban Development Institute of Victoria wants the Andrews Government to energetically pursue migrants when pandemic travel restrictions ease, and to overrule local councils when developments stall.
The developer lobby’s Roadmap to Recovery report, to be released on Sunday, urges swift stimulation of a construction and development industry that employs 300,000 people.
The UDIA wants fast-tracked approvals for greenfield developments on the urban fringe and “supercharging” of urban renewal sites across metro areas.
UDIA CEO Danni Hunter said that despite record low interest rates, job uncertainty was affecting people’s ability to buy new homes.
“If the government gives buyers the confidence to purchase now, the buyer will win, the housing industry will win and Victoria will become the homeowners state,” she said.
Overseas migration has been slashed due to pandemic shutdowns, but Ms Hunter said a return to big migrant inflows was vital for the economy and cultural richness.
“To bridge the population growth gap arising from the pause in net overseas migration, we will have to energetically pursue interstate migration; and broaden the focus to international migration when the time is right,” she said.
Ms Hunter also called for an overhaul of the planning system, especially decision-making by local councils.
“UDIA Victoria would support the state government calling in projects that have stalled at local government level to keep these moving, and is also calling for VCAT to have the power to resolve matters that arise between a developer and local councils after a permit has been issued,” she said.
But Sustainable Australia Party state MLC Clifford Hayes said ideas that would make Melbourne even more dense and further cut red tape were ridiculous in light of the lessons of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Property developers are already exploiting the system – the last thing we should do is take planning controls from councils and communities, and give them to cash-driven developers,” he said.
“The dense population push and slashing of red tape has given us some of the world’s least affordable housing, the flammable cladding debacle, and the urban heat island effect.”
Ms Hunter said the government needed to make Victoria as attractive as possible for those moving here, as population growth meant better infrastructure and facilities.
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