Lost property causes: supply

Government obstruction is delaying the transition ‘from cows to bulldozers’ by up to 10 years and costing billions.

Four of Australia’s biggest developers — Frasers, Stockland, Springfield and Meriton — say governments are obstructing supply of new housing, which one says costs the industry billions of dollars a year.

Meriton founder and managing director Harry Triguboff says the planning process in Sydney is a “disaster”. Triguboff wanted to build 3000 apartments in Sydney last year, but managed only 1500 because of bureaucratic obstruction. “Councils think that everything has to be done according to the letter of the law,” he told 2GB recently. “But they don’t understand the law because I take them to court and I beat them up.”

Frasers executive general manager of residential, Anthony Boyd, says the approval process, even after community consultation, is too time consuming. “Developers are aligned with what the community wants,” he says. “We want community consultation to get the best outcome. Assuming that takes place, you still wait and wait. But meanwhile, it’s real money you are paying, in bank interest, land tax, stamp duty.

“It’s about having certainty. If you don’t have that then obviously there’s a higher risk. All developers will tell you the same thing.”

Meriton founder and managing director Harry Triguboff says the planning process in Sydney is a “disaster”. Triguboff wanted to build 3000 apartments in Sydney last year, but managed only 1500 because of bureaucratic obstruction. “Councils think that everything has to be done according to the letter of the law,” he told 2GB recently. “But they don’t understand the law because I take them to court and I beat them up.”