Sunshine Coast land supply solutions must deliver social and economic benefits: Property Council

Land supply is as much a social issue as an economic one, writes the Property Council Queensland executive director Jen Williams. TAKE THE POLL

The next decade represents a window of opportunity for the Sunshine Coast, with the Olympics set to be the perfect medium to showcase the region’s enviable lifestyle to the world.

As a result, a range of employment and investment opportunities will arise, and the Sunshine Coast’s population will swell as people flock to the region for work and lifestyle.

While this is great news for the region, this new-found attention is also likely to further accelerate the region’s growth rate, which is already seeing demand outstripping supply.

The current intense level of interest in greenfield land has seen potential purchasers camping out overnight in anticipation of new lot sales, and has even led to some developers balloting lots in an attempt to level the playing field for prospective buyers.

For the Sunshine Coast to leverage the opportunities the next decade presents, the region will need to attract – and retain – a range of workers, from tradies, to retail workers, to corporate professionals.

The risk is if these workers – who are the backbone of the economy – cannot find a place to live, the region will miss out on all of the potential public and private sector investment in transport, infrastructure and amenity that comes along with good growth.

Not only this, but history shows that it is the most vulnerable in our community who suffer when there is an imbalance between supply and demand.

You need to look no further than Queensland’s ballooning social housing waitlist to find evidence of those most affected.

Statutory planning tools, such as the current planning scheme, are relatively static documents, and as such, are simply not designed to quickly respond to the surge in growth the region is experiencing.

To the Council’s credit, it has recognised the need to move quickly, and has begun the process of drafting a new planning scheme … but getting it right will take time.

The risks and rewards of successfully developing this new scheme cannot be overstated.

If the final scheme manages to straddle the fine line of flexibility and certainty, it will go a long way towards providing the development industry the support needed to address the current shortage of land and enable the region to deliver the housing diversity it so desperately needs.

However, there is a delicate balance between certainty and flexibility, and a scheme that only responds to the needs of the residents of today – rather than anticipating the needs of the future – threatens to further disadvantage the community’s most vulnerable, and jeopardise the amenity and lifestyle that locals treasure.

Property Council Queensland executive director Jen Williams. Picture: Property Council of Australia

Getting the settings right will put downwards pressure on escalating house prices, enabling younger generations to fulfil the great Australian dream of homeownership.

It will provide housing choice for tenants, in a market where they can afford the at-market rental, rather than seeking out government-supported housing.

And importantly, greater supply has the potential to limit how many of our society’s most vulnerable spend a night sleeping rough.

The property industry has a big role to play in delivering the housing and amenity our region needs to ensure that future growth delivers social and economic dividends, and fortunately both the Council and the State Government are alive to the issues at play and are working to address them.

Without the support of the existing community, it is difficult for governments to make decisions that will affect both current and future residents.

With a new scheme being drafted, it is crucial that the community continues to be engaged throughout the debate, and that the social benefits for the Sunshine Coast residents of today – and of the future – are not lost in the conversation.

Originally published as Sunshine Coast land supply solutions must deliver social and economic benefits: Property Council