<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/broadbeach-qld-4218">Broadbeach</a> offers plenty of reasons to live vertically, but moving from a substantial family home into an apartment can expose the compromises of high-density living. Privacy, room for guests and usable living space tend to matter more when an apartment is intended as a permanent home rather than an occasional coastal base.

A typical residential floor at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/the-eveleigh-broadbeach-7-9-surf-parade-broadbeach-qld-4218">The Eveleigh</a>, on Surf Parade,&nbsp;contains just four apartments. The 94-residence development by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/hirsch-faigen">Hirsch &amp; Faigen</a> is predominantly made up of expansive three-bedroom homes, with a limited collection of half-floor penthouses above.

Across the apartment floors, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/rothelowman">Rothelowman</a> has used the relatively limited number of residences to give each home greater access to natural light and outlook. Living spaces extend towards full-height glazing, while a series of bay windows frame selected views across the Pacific Ocean, city and hinterland rather than treating the building edge as a continuous wall of glass.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360965]

“The apartment floors deliver a collection of homes that embrace controlled outlook via a series of bay windows deliberately framing moments of view,” Rothelowman Director Kim Lowman said.

From outside, those projecting forms contribute to the tower’s faceted profile. Strong horizontal and vertical elements establish its proportions, while the changing position of the sun alters the light, shadow and reflection across the façade throughout the day.

The same attention moves inside the apartments, where the material palette combines warm timber, natural stone, metallic detailing and softer curved forms. Kitchens sit within the main living zone, with stone island benches, integrated joinery and European appliances, before the living areas extend towards the glazing and the outlook.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360981]

Three genuine bedrooms provide room to accommodate family and guests, while two secure car spaces and storage address some of the practical considerations that can become more noticeable when moving from a larger home. Feedback from the display suite has centred on the warmth and restraint of the interiors, with buyers commenting that the residences feel like homes rather than conventional coastal apartments.

A limited collection of half-floor penthouses occupies the upper levels, increasing the scale of the living spaces and adding private balconies and elevated finishes. From this position, the outlook extends between the ocean and hinterland.

Outside the private residences, The Eveleigh separates its shared spaces between the podium and rooftop. The podium is centred on wellness, with subtropical landscaping surrounding a swimming pool and pool terrace, yoga garden, private gymnasium, sauna and hot and cold plunge facilities. Landscaped retreats and pavilions provide additional places to sit away from the main recreation areas.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360966]

Higher in the building, a rooftop pavilion and private dining suite sit alongside resident lounge, barbecue and outdoor dining areas, opening towards panoramic views across the ocean, city and hinterland.

“Buyers are no longer just looking for an apartment, but a lifestyle where they can relax, reset, and enjoy a balanced way of living,” Hirsch &amp; Faigen Director of Sales Matt George said.

Interest to date has come from established owner-occupiers and interstate lifestyle purchasers, including buyers planning a future move to the Gold Coast. Many are coming from larger homes and want to reduce ongoing maintenance without giving up space for family and guests, privacy, two car spaces or the ability to entertain at home.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=149670 project_image_fid=360969]

Much of that daily life can also take place beyond the building without requiring a drive. Kurrawa Beach and Pratten Park are an easy walk from Surf Parade, while Pacific Fair, Oracle Boulevard, The Oasis, restaurants, cafés, entertainment and public transport are also within walking distance.

The Eveleigh is Hirsch &amp; Faigen's fourth Gold Coast development since entering the market in 2021, following The Hemingway at Palm Beach, The Emerson at Kirra and Yves at Mermaid Beach. Each of the preceding projects sold out before completion.

“Broadbeach had been on our radar throughout our time operating on the Gold Coast,” the developer said. “Following our projects in Palm Beach, Kirra and Mermaid Beach, Broadbeach represented the natural next step for the business.”

The Surf Parade site brought together proximity to the beach, protected coastal outlooks and walkability to dining, shopping and recreation. Hirsch &amp; Faigen also identified the street as an emerging premium residential address, with enough separation from Broadbeach's busier destinations to retain a quieter environment at home.

The Eveleigh is now under construction by Maxcon, with completion forecast for mid-2028. Three-bedroom residences are currently available from $2.87 million.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=149670]

Joel Robinson

The Eveleigh brings house-like apartments to Broadbeach

A long-stalled Campbelltown development site is back in play, with new plans for 139 apartments set to supersede a mixed-use scheme approved almost a decade ago but never built.

The new proposal for 28 Cordeaux Street would deliver 116 market and 23 affordable apartments in a part 14-storey building, bringing a substantial new project into a Campbelltown market where new apartment supply remains limited.

Plans have been filed over the 3,092 sqm corner site at Moore-Oxley Street, around 600 metres from Campbelltown Railway Station and the city-centre retail core.

The site already carries a mixed-use residential approval dating to 2016. Doroch Architects has now been engaged on a larger replacement scheme, which is progressing as a State Significant Development Application following a Housing Delivery Authority determination in August 2025.

The apartment mix comprises 39 one-bedroom, 72 two-bedroom and 28 three-bedroom residences. Two-bedroom apartments make up just over half of the project, while three-bedroom homes account for 20 per cent.

<img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="136dd5b9-3791-4da6-9e31-76f533f5b4de" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da2.png?VersionId=LgOSy9nwf5u.MGswBBwaGGxuX8QpHSl_" />

Of the 139 apartments, 23 will be delivered as affordable housing under the in-fill affordable housing provisions of the Housing SEPP. The affordable component represents 15 per cent of the residential gross floor area and will be managed by a registered Community Housing Provider.

Doroch has sought to break the scale of the building into two distinct elements, with a masonry podium of around four storeys establishing the street edge before the residential tower steps back above.

The corner position has shaped that approach. Cordeaux Street faces toward the commercial and civic centre, while Moore-Oxley Street leads into the lower-scale residential neighbourhood to the south, and the design verification report describes the site as "bridging the commercial core to the north and established residential areas to the south."

The podium will be expressed predominantly in face brick, while the upper levels shift to brushed and grooved concrete cladding with darker metal detailing. Recessed sections, deep balcony edges and landscaping break down the upper form, with an approximately 11.8-metre setback to the northern boundary addressing the adjoining St Peters Anglican School.

<img alt="First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="c8b3d2d3-c561-4bfc-a5d9-a68c0c10dac1" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Campbelltown%20da1.png?VersionId=AeAEyJU02Gk2k5noUj2StziCvdQ7fW4B" />

Campbelltown has been starved of new residential developments in the last decade.

The only other notable development set to come to market this year is ALAND's Queen Square, a mixed-use precinct on over two hectares that will comprise apartments above a vibrant ground-level retail and hospitality dining precinct.

First look: New 139-apartment plans revive long-stalled Campbelltown city centre site

First Look: Sherlock Construction pitches apartments for low-rise Deception Bay

Queensland builder-developer MAYD has revealed the first look at its major North Kirra beachfront development, lodging amended plans that reduce the number of apartments and increase the proportion of larger residences.

The project is planned across a substantial 4,742 sqm amalgamated site spanning seven lots at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/2-6-pacific-parade-bilinga-qld-4225">2-6 Pacific Parade</a> and 27-33 Golden Four Drive in Bilin​ga, directly opposite Nor​th Kirra Beach.

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/mayd-group">MAYD</a> secured the site for $32.5 million in 2025, in what was one of the Gold Coast's largest property transactions of the year.

The development will be delivered across two stages, with the first stage carrying an estimated gross realisation value of around $360 million.

The latest amendments seek to reduce the overall apartment count and shift the project further toward the owner-occupier market, with larger residences designed for buyers wanting considerably more space than traditionally offered in a beachfront apartment.

The residential mix will include townhomes, oversized two-bedroom apartments, substantial three-bedroom residences and four-bedroom homes.

MAYD has appointed Cera Stribley to lead the architecture and interiors, with the Melbourne-based design practice drawing on the beachfront setting through a series of ocean-facing terraces and heavily landscaped balconies.

Strong horizontal forms and curved balconies will define the exterior, with subtropical landscaping integrated throughout the building to soften the built form and increase the connection between the residences and the beachfront.

The project will also include an extensive collection of resident wellness and lifestyle facilities, continuing the broader shift across the Gold Coast's luxury apartment market toward larger homes supported by resort-style amenity.

<img alt="MAYD" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d1bcbb05-e659-4b47-8bd4-1e595315e2ad" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-08-27%20at%202.05.03%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=jj0XEud1X1DuLt7_KyElhjMdZGOXmLHP" />

MAYD Founder Todd Mould said North Kirra was increasingly appealing to buyers attracted to the more established, lower-density character of the southern Gold Coast.

"North Kirra presents one of the most compelling luxury residential opportunities currently emerging in Australia, combining absolute beachfront with the character and authenticity that buyers are increasingly seeking, and the same sense of tight-knit community that defined Burleigh and Currumbin perhaps 10 or 15 years ago," Mould said.

"With Gold Coast Airport on its doorstep, it also offers a level of accessibility that broadens its appeal across almost every market demographic."

The project comes as the southern Gold Coast continues to attract an increasing share of high-end apartment development and buyer activity.

Kirra in particular has emerged as one of the region's more tightly held beachfront markets, with its relatively low-density character, established surf and hospitality scene and proximity to Gold Coast Airport differentiating it from the higher-density markets further north.

Mould said those characteristics had informed the approach MAYD and Cera Stribley had taken to the project.

"We've worked closely with Cera Stribley to create a vision that is deeply connected to its surroundings," he said.

"Inspired by the coastline itself, the architecture has been shaped around space, privacy and resort-style living, creating a collection of homes that reflects the next generation of luxury on the southern Gold Coast."

MOTIV Managing Director Carly Cottam, who has been appointed to market the project, said buyer attention had continued to move south along the Gold Coast.

"Purchasers who may once have defaulted to Broadbeach, Main Beach or Surfers Paradise are increasingly recognising the value of a genuine beachfront location that offers lower density, strong amenity and a more established sense of community," Cottam said.

"Kirra has a powerful combination of growing demand and genuine scarcity. Beachfront supply is inherently constrained, the area remains relatively low density, and buyers are increasingly placing a premium on locations that feel established, uncrowded and authentic rather than heavily developed."

Cottam said the proximity to Gold Coast Airport was also proving increasingly important for interstate and second-home buyers.

"Being minutes from Gold Coast Airport makes it particularly compelling for interstate buyers, frequent travellers and second-home purchasers who can access an authentic coastal lifestyle almost immediately after stepping off a flight."

The acquisition takes MAYD's active development portfolio to more than $500 million, with the North Kirra project representing one of its largest undertakings to date.

MAYD is targeting an early 2027 launch.

First look at MAYD's North Kirra mixed-use precinct

<main data-perf-region="main">
Castle Hill, the longtime hub of the Hills District, has been one of the major beneficiaries of Sydney's Metro expansion, with improved connectivity helping drive continued population growth, development and buyer demand across the Hills District.

But despite that growth, the suburb has seen relatively few major new apartment projects brought to market over the past 18 months.

Hills District developer Reve Group is looking to fill that gap with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/nova-r-ve-castle-hill-2-garthowen-crescent-castle-hill-nsw-2154">Nova Rêve</a>, a major new mixed-use precinct on the corner of Garthowen Crescent and Old Castle Hill Road, a short walk from Castle Hill Metro Station and Castle Towers.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377679]

The project will comprise three residential towers alongside a hotel, restaurants, cafes and a skybar, more than 1,600 sqm of ground-floor retail and almost an acre of landscaped gardens.

It represents the largest project undertaken by Reve Group, the development arm of the Kassis family, which has been building across the Hills District for more than 30 years through Kassis Homes.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377675]

Nova Rêve also represents a significant step up from the family's first apartment development, Grand Rêve, which was delivered nearby on Garthowen Crescent.

Grand Rêve introduced larger, house-like apartment layouts and premium inclusions including Wolf and Sub-Zero appliances to the Castle Hill market.

Nova Rêve takes that approach to a precinct scale, combining the residential component with hospitality, retail and substantial public and resident landscaping.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377685]

Reve Group Managing Director Sam Kassis said the project reflected the family's three decades of building in the Hills, which has evolved from trophy homes on quarter-acre blocks to larger-scale apartment development.

"Grand Rêve was our first apartment project here and it showed us what this pocket of Castle Hill could be. Nova Rêve is the refinement of that idea: not just apartments, but a place the whole suburb can use," Kassis said.

A key part of that approach is the hotel, which has been designed to operate as an amenity for the wider Castle Hill community rather than solely hotel guests.

It will include restaurants, cafes, skybars and all-day dining, alongside conference and event facilities catering to business functions, community groups and private events.

At ground level, more than 1,600 sqm of shops and cafes will open onto the surrounding streets and landscaped areas.

Almost an acre of gardens designed by Land and Form Studios will run through the precinct, incorporating pathways, seating, barbecue areas and children's play spaces.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=152737 project_image_fid=377680]

Reve Group's Romio Georges said creating an active ground plane had been central to the planning of Nova Rêve.

"There are gardens with pathways, barbecues, seating and play areas, shops and cafes opening onto the street, and a hotel with restaurants and a skybar that anyone in Castle Hill can walk into," Georges said.

The project's elevated position on one of Sydney's highest ridgelines will also provide apartments with outlooks toward the Sydney skyline, surrounding parkland and the Blue Mountains.

More than 80 per cent of the apartments will occupy corner positions, with Turner responsible for both the architecture and interiors.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=152737]

<h3 data-end="3697" data-section-id="q3n5ak" data-start="3672">&nbsp;</h3>
</main>

Nova Rêve arrives as Reve Group bets on Castle Hill's next growth phase

Politics

Is the Federal Government blinkered when it comes to Victoria?

That was the first question that came to <a href="/">Apartments.com.au's</a> mind upon seeing the breakdown of allocation of infrastructure spending in Tuesday night's Federal Government budget.

Among the <a href="http://minister.infrastructure.gov.au/nash/releases/2016/May/budget-infra_02-2016.aspx">list of projects</a> the Federal Government will spend money on in the coming financial year, the Victorian section had a caveat: "the Australian Government remains committed to the East West Link and our offer of $3 billion still stands. We are ready to deliver the project should any Victorian Government decide to proceed."

In other words, Turnbull and Morrison are happy to apply layer upon layer of lipstick on the pig that is the East West Link and dangle it at Victoria from Capital Hill.

The petty federal-state freeway politicking exhibits a lack of leadership, makes a mockery of all the pro-urban rhetoric which was aired in the lead-up to the budget and it unfortunately adds weight to the argument that even more Cities policy overlap between the Federal and State level will result in unwarranted delays in investment all the while our cities keep on growing.

It's galling that $3 billion remains as an "offer" should any Victorian Government decide to proceed with the dud East West Link project when this money could have accelerated the Victorian Government's level crossing removal programme - perhaps even extended it beyond the initial list of 50; been allocated to Melbourne Metro without strings attached - such as what's happening on phase two of Sydney's metro project; or fully funded and accelerated rural and regional road projects.

Inside Story contributor and former Age economics editor Tim Colebatch has labeled it discrimination:

<blockquote>
And then there is the government’s discrimination against Victoria.

At a time when Melbourne is bursting at the seams with its population growing at twice the pace in the rest of the country, the Coalition has allocated it, at best, just $4 billion for new infrastructure projects over the six years to 2019–20, compared with $25 billion to be shared between Queensland and New South Wales.

For the year ahead, it promises to spend just $328 million in Victoria, but $2.7 billion in New South Wales, $1.6 billion in Queensland, more than $1 billion in Western Australia, and $383 million in South Australia.

Over the six years, compared with equal per capita funding, Victoria will be short-changed by more than $6 billion. Presumably the Turnbull government believes this is not the kind of issue that decides people’s votes. Time will tell.
<cite><a href="http://insidestory.org.au/the-budgets-two-big-ideas">Tim Colebatch, "The budget’s two big ideas", Inside Story</a></cite></blockquote>

Political journalists and commentators elsewhere appear to be broadly positive about the general thrust of the budget, however we suspect this has more to do with said journalist and commentator's surprise that the budget was not more profligate given it has been delivered so close to an election.

When viewed in the context of state-by-state infrastructure money spending, there's most certainly profligacy in marginal seat New South Wales and Queensland.

Victoria is at last seeing true 'balance' in terms of new transport investment - hard rail infrastructure is being augmented or about to be built as new, and there's plenty more needed - much of it contained within PTV's network development plans. Existing suburban nodes which are serviced by high-quality rail services, like <a href="/new-apartments/box-hill-vic-3128">Box Hill</a>, are becoming transit-orientated development hotspots.

We need more Box Hills, not less. And a sure fire way to create less of them is for the Federal Government to sit in its back offices in Canberra playing marginal seat freeway politics with this state.

In the context of our national-leading population growth, it is <a href="/">Apartments.com.au's</a> view that this budget is not in Victoria's interests.

Staff Writer

Is the Federal Government blinkered when it comes to Victoria?

<html><body>
The Federal Environment Minister - who also happens to be a Victorian Member of Parliament - released a <a href="http://tenplay.com.au/news/melbourne/2015/10/12/Bid%20for%20a%20Monash%20Fwy%20makeover">wish-list of projects</a> to "fix" Melbourne's congestion which unsurprisingly read like a road-lobbyists cheat sheet, complete with a mention of Melbourne Metro for balance.

Greg Hunt is the member for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Division_of_Flinders">Flinders</a> which covers the entire Mornington Peninsula, surrounds the shoreline of Western Port and covers both Phillip and French Islands; and it was no surprise the Monash Freeway featured prominently in the ridiculed shopping list of road projects.

In his <a href="http://heraldsun.com.au/news/opinion/greg-hunt-has-crossed-the-line-between-promises-and-political-fantasy-on-victorian-transport-system/story-fni0ffsx-1227567998164">Herald Sun column</a> Jeff Kennett rightly called out the Federal Minister's plan, labelling it political fantasy owing to the lack funding commitments. The Age's state political editor Josh Gordon likewise <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/comment/greg-hunt-is-lost-in-the-detail-of-his-185year-plan-for-melbourne-20151014-gk8re3">opined</a> on Greg Hunt's plan and the <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/k/9/5/3/b/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gk8re3.png/1444868912972.jpg">Spooner cartoon</a> which accompanied the editorial has a nice play on the backstory.

It is unfortunate there are politicians out there who are still flying the flag for the East West Link, when its credibility has been utterly destroyed with the release of its business case after the Andrews Government came to power.

And while I agree with Jeff Kennett that the "plans" are rubbish without any funding commitments, no-one seems to have made mention of <a href="/news/and-on-the-third-day-infrastructure-victoria-was-born">Infrastructure Victoria</a> in all of this.

The Victorian Government established this agency in an attempt to remove the politics of transport infrastructure planning and spending, and the "missing link" project from the Eastern Freeway to the Metropolitan Ring Road (from Greg Hunt's list) is exactly the kind of concept which needs to be studied by Infrastructure Victoria.

If we recall some of the rhetoric that was lavishly reported in the mainstream media on the East West Link, namely that it would act as a high-capacity limited-access road alternative to the Monash/West Gate Freeways, then this should be studied by Infrastructure Victoria along with its costs, benefits, environmental impacts. Just like any other transport project, regardless of mode, going forward.

There is a federal election coming and with the recent Liberal party leadership turmoil, it would be tempting to dismiss these plans as just a Federal MP trying to shore up votes before the election. But then, Greg Hunt's seat is what you would call an ultra-safe Liberal seat, where the two-party preferred result at the last election was 62/38.

It is just rubbish and childish politics, thankfully this is being called out. Josh Gordon sums it well <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/comment/greg-hunt-is-lost-in-the-detail-of-his-185year-plan-for-melbourne-20151014-gk8re3">in his article</a>:

<blockquote>
My guess is both Turnbull and Andrews have worked out just how thoroughly sick people are of hollow rhetoric and political brinkmanship when it comes to infrastructure funding. Indeed, according to Coalition sources, focus group research bears this out.
<cite><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/comment/greg-hunt-is-lost-in-the-detail-of-his-185year-plan-for-melbourne-20151014-gk8re3">Josh Gordon: "Greg Hunt’s Melbourne 2200: on a road to nowhere"</a></cite>
</blockquote>

I wrote the following when the legislation to set up Infrastructure Victoria was passed through Parliament in September:

<blockquote>
Infrastructure Victoria will be required to create a 30-year infrastructure strategy which assesses the current state of infrastructure in the state and identifies Victoria's infrastructure needs and priorities over the 30 year period. Furthermore the legislation requires the Government to provide a formal response to the 30-year strategy by creating and then publishing a five-year infrastructure plan within 12 months of Infrastructure Victoria releasing its 30-year strategy.

The Government's response and five-year plan must also identify the priority projects "including an explanation of how the priority projects will achieve the social, economic and environmental objectives stated in the 30-year infrastructure strategy".
<cite><a href="/news/and-on-the-third-day-infrastructure-victoria-was-born">Alastair Taylor: "And on the third day... Infrastructure Victoria was born"</a></cite>
</blockquote>

The election of the Andrews Government is evidence on how populist infrastructure policies can help you get into power, but when the same group of people establish an agency able to call out future populist infrastructure policies, then it is time to change tactics.

The game has changed and the sooner political strategists realise this, the less foolish the politicians they advise will look.

Lead image credit: Wikipedia.
</body></html>

Alastair Taylor

Comment: Greg Hunt's "fix list" - nothing to see here

<html><body>
It was a one man show on Monday night's <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/">QandA</a>. The Federal Leader of the Opposition was answering questions from a Ballarat audience and made a curious remark that the Australian Labor Party (ALP) are the public transport party.

Fumbling through a list of large-scale public transport projects around the country, Bill Shorten looked to be in the most uncomfortable position all night.

A follow up question on the feel-good grandiose infrastructure project of the age - high speed rail on the east coast - appeared to make the Leader of the Opposition even more uncomfortable when he appeared to confuse his answer, by talking about how 10 years ago he said the country should build an inland rail line on the western side of the Great Dividing Range. The inland rail project is about moving freight between Victoria and Queensland, high speed rail is getting people out of the air and onto trains.

Is this really the best the public transport party - at least at a Federal level - can muster?

If anything the most blindingly obvious thing to talk up on a national platform is jobs. And public transport, believe it or not, is a big job creator.

Contrast the messaging surrounding public transport to other areas where the ALP lays claim to the political mantle: health and education. You would be hard pressed to find an ALP politician who could not talk about these two policy areas in more detail than Bill Shorten managed to do with public transport on Monday night.

The communications from the ALP playbook in these two areas is as follows: Expansionary education policy = a smarter society with more opportunity. Expansionary health policy = a happier and healthier society. In both cases where the state chooses to spend more money in expanding physical infrastructure - building more schools and building more hospitals - the end result is always the need for more people to work in the two respective sectors.

It is exactly the same in public transport.

Expanding bus routes, which is the best way to rapidly provide high quality public transport in suburban areas, requires more bus drivers. Jobs. Expanding tram / light rail lines requires more drivers. Expanding heavy rail lines requires more drivers. Jobs.

Similarly, it is a manufacturing story in disguise. Remember the car industry? The component manufacturers may well be able to re-tool and re-skill to support an expanding renewable energy sector, as Bill Shorten mentioned in the same QandA session, but there is also the natural segue into onshore public transport vehicle manufacturing.

Health and education is very much in the DNA of the ALP but based on the Federal Leader's performance on Monday night, his relative ease in fumbling points he should have indeed remembered and his inability to connect sustainable transport to an economic narrative ultimately suggests that when it comes to claiming the party of public transport title, the ALP have a long way to go.

Lead image credit: <a href="http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/qanda/FA1407H034S00">ABC iView</a>
</body></html>

Are the Federal ALP really the 'public transport' party?

<html><body>
Judging by reports observed on various media platforms over the past 24 hours, it seems there are a lot of people and lobbyist groups waiting to tap the new Prime Minister on the shoulder and talk about their cause.

From people hoping for change on issues such as marriage equality and climate change - which Malcolm Turnbull is well known for having a different view from his party - to more traditional lobbyists such as the Australian Chamber of Commerce: <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/15/queues-begin-outside-malcolm-turnbulls-door-to-push-policies">they're everywhere</a>.

It looks like many will be disappointed, at least in the short term. <a href="http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/transcript-vote-on-the-liberal-party-leadership">In his own words</a>, at a media conference shortly after the leadership ballot result was announced:

<blockquote>
The Prime Minister of Australia is not a president; the Prime Minister is the first among equals. And you can see that the partnership between me and Julie, the partnership with our colleagues will be a very clear cultural demonstration that we are operating in a traditional cabinet manner. And that means Lenore [Guardian Political Editor] that I’m not going to make policy pronouncements from this podium tonight. Of course policies change, they change all the time, but they will be when people should have the confidence that we will be making decisions in a thoughtful and considered manner, recognising the significance of the work we have to do as the Government of Australia.
<cite><a href="http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/transcript-vote-on-the-liberal-party-leadership">Malcolm Turnbull, September 14, 2015</a></cite>
</blockquote>

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was quick off the mark, exclaiming on Twitter that he is keen to talk shop with the new Prime Minister. Presumably the 'PT' reference relates to undoing the damage the outgoing Prime Minister caused by his dogmatic approach to funding rail projects in cities.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
Congratulations <a href="https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm">@TurnbullMalcolm</a>. Keen to discuss partnering on PT, roads, health, education and jobs for Victoria. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/auspol?src=hash">#auspol</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/springst?src=hash">#springst</a>
— Daniel Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/DanielAndrewsMP/status/643397001732747265">September 14, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>It is worth pointing out Malcolm Turnbull's fervent use of public transport will have been saving taxpayers money, that is at least up until today, assuming the Australian Federal Police put the kibosh on him continuing to commute on public transport from this point on. Imagine how much the following trips would have cost had a Government car (or taxi) been used.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-conversation="none" data-partner="tweetdeck">
<a href="https://twitter.com/Billandbecks">@Billandbecks</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WickBurner">@WickBurner</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/tweetsyjoy">@tweetsyjoy</a> not so. Two trams yesterday but Monday in sydney was a record - 7 trains <a href="http://t.co/Op1A66r1NK">pic.twitter.com/Op1A66r1NK</a>
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm/status/626254767317127168">July 29, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAAGFBMVEUiIiI9PT0eHh4gIB4hIBkcHBwcHBwcHBydr+JQAAAACHRSTlMABA4YHyQsM5jtaMwAAADfSURBVDjL7ZVBEgMhCAQBAf//42xcNbpAqakcM0ftUmFAAIBE81IqBJdS3lS6zs3bIpB9WED3YYXFPmHRfT8sgyrCP1x8uEUxLMzNWElFOYCV6mHWWwMzdPEKHlhLw7NWJqkHc4uIZphavDzA2JPzUDsBZziNae2S6owH8xPmX8G7zzgKEOPUoYHvGz1TBCxMkd3kwNVbU0gKHkx+iZILf77IofhrY1nYFnB/lQPb79drWOyJVa/DAvg9B/rLB4cC+Nqgdz/TvBbBnr6GBReqn/nRmDgaQEej7WhonozjF+Y2I/fZou/qAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div>
</div> <a href="https://instagram.com/p/7dn7ERMqPL/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">Flinders Street station magnificent in the dawn.</a> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A photo posted by turnbullmalcolm (@turnbullmalcolm) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2015-09-10T20:06:06+00:00">Sep 10, 2015 at 1:06pm PDT</time>
</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck">
And here comes today's tram - the number 70 to take us to Hawthorn and a morning with <a href="https://twitter.com/JoshFrydenberg">@JoshFrydenberg</a> <a href="http://t.co/zeGCmct6nj">pic.twitter.com/zeGCmct6nj</a>
— Malcolm Turnbull (@TurnbullMalcolm) <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm/status/642070078083608576">September 10, 2015</a>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>Regular users of Twitter, Facebook or Instagram may have stumbled on Malcolm Turnbull's posts, where the new Prime Minister is frequently pictured on public transport or snapping away in our cities.

In the newest mass online media outlet, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/2015/08/24/malcolm-turnbull-train_n_8035068">The Huffington Post Australia</a>, an article published in August has an interesting take on the new Prime Minister's tendency to immerse himself in our cities; "for a guy with a personal wealth estimated in the tens of millions, it's admirable to see him slogging it out on the train with the rest of us".

Attempting to heap praise on Turnbull because he is wealthy but mingles with "the rest of us" on public transport is infantile, and unfortunately is another example where public transport systems are popularly perceived as systems for charity when that proposition <a href="http://www.ptua.org.au/myths/rich.shtml">could not be further from the truth.</a>

Centralised city planning from Canberra is not going to happen with a Liberal/National Government in power, however it is a welcome change that the new Prime Minister is an urbanist and has a deep interest in public transport and our cities more generally, unlike his predecessor.

After the dust has settled, the challenge for Malcolm Turnbull will be to make his penchant for urbanism somehow channel into a cities narrative - and have it rub off on federal Liberals - so as we are never confronted with a right-wing anti-city Prime Minister like Tony Abbott ever again.

Lead image credit: <a href="https://www.propertyobserver.com.au/https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm/status/563147272515358720">Malcolm Turnbull on Twitter</a>.
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Australia now has an urbanist Prime Minister

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Since the last state election, Premier Daniel Andrews has been on a mission. While the previous state government managed to get itself stuck in a perpetual state of inertia very early on, the current Premier has been determined to be a man of action.

East West Link contracts torn up? Tick. Level Crossing removals out to to tender? Tick. Melbourne Metro funding bought forward? Another tick. But then he pulled a rabbit out of the hat that left even the most ardent of soothsayers flat footed: the <a href="http://consult.transurban.com/western-distributor-join-the-conversation">Western Distributor</a>. Essentially just a watered down version of the old Westlink proposal, is this the congestion messiah we have been waiting for?

The timing is extraordinary. Just weeks after coming to an agreement with the East West Link consortium to abandon an expensive road thought unnecessary, the Premier replaced it with a project to build an expensive road we don't need. It is a brave move. Crazy brave, as there are some startling comparisons to its defunct predecessor: no business case exists and it wasn't taken to an election, so technically there is no mandate.

The fact both major political parties have flipped from their previous positions (for the sake of political expediency) highlights one very unfortunate fact: the Western Distributor is a boondoggle.

There, I said it. Cue outrage from commuters stuck on the Westgate Bridge every day. Cue derision from motor interest groups like the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria (RACV), who have have been spewing forth their "We need a second river crossing to solve congestion on the Westgate" rhetoric with impunity for years, ignoring the inconvenient fact it will be neither the second crossing (we have six already), nor will it solve congestion.

Despite all this, Daniel Andrews has taken a punt on Western Distributor. Why?

Assessing East West Link, the project failed for a myriad of reasons, including trying to solve a problem that didn't exist. Only 5% of cars went from CityLink to the Eastern Freeway, hence there existed no real public appetite to build it. Add its exorbitant cost at $11 billion (the state would bear the brunt of, as well as all of the risk if it didn't perform financially) and it was no surprise to see East West Link disappear.

However, Daniel Andrews thinks he has mitigated those issues with the Western Distributor, and technically he has… in theory.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/057458-6c26a75a-fd19-11e4-abd8-e4ec9e966762.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="The political posturing continues. Image courtesy The Australian"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="327" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/057458-6c26a75a-fd19-11e4-abd8-e4ec9e966762.jpg?itok=InmNol5l" title="The political posturing continues. Image courtesy The Australian" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>The political posturing continues. Image courtesy The Australian</figcaption></figure>As mentioned before, there certainly is an appetite for it: if I had a dollar for every time someone told me "We need a second river crossing", I would be a very rich man. The reality is we already have six in the vicinity of the city: the Westgate itself, Footscray Road, Dynon Road, Smithfield Road, Fisher Parade and Maribyrnong/Raleigh Road.

There are two well known political idioms at work here: "Never let the truth get in the way of a good story", and the Tony Abbott special "If you say something often enough, it makes it true". The RACV have done a great job of tricking commuters in believing the second river crossing myth. Given we have six river crossings already, is a seventh one going to make a difference? It won't, hence why the RACV drumming on the notion we only have one.

The other argument Daniel Andrews has mitigated is the cost. That's the real jewel in the crown of the Western Distributor, it's free! The cost of this new piece of infrastructure will be covered by three sources:

<ol>
<li>Tolls on the distributor itself.</li>
	<li>A further concession on the tolls Transurban collects from CityLink.</li>
	<li>Federal Government funding originally set aside for East West Link.</li>
</ol>
None of these factors are problematic given it results in no cost to the state government. Furthermore, Transurban have allegedly agreed to take over the cost of building the original <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_Gate_Distributor">West Gate Distributor</a> project too. As it has already been budgeted for by the state, this actually results in a $500 million net saving for the government. That's two new mega projects and money back.

All of this good news won't hide the very damning truth: it won't solve congestion on the Westgate!

The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Induced_demand">widely accepted</a> science of Induced Traffic will ensure the distributor becomes yet another car park within five years, not to mention the extra traffic it will pump into the city at the end of Footscray Road, just like the East West Link would have done to Hoddle Street as predicted by the Linking Melbourne Authority's own modeling. Whether it results in no cost to the state government or not is essentially irrelevant.

It just serves to reinforce the myth that we can solve congestion by building more urban freeways. This just ingrains the car dependence culture, which inevitably results in more funding being pumped into freeways in the future. It is a vicious cycle.

We have all heard the argument we need 'balanced funding for road and rail', this is nothing more than a political mantra. Balance is such a nice word which implies everyone gets what they need, however funding between roads and public transport has been anything but balanced in the last 20 years, it has been heavily skewed towards roads.

Pumping the same amount of money into mega road projects and into public transport does not produce the same outcomes. While the Western Distributor will inevitably reach capacity within five years, we will still be reaping the benefits of the Melbourne Metro rail tunnel in half a century and beyond, albeit at twice the price.

Sadly wrapped up in this debate - but now pushed out of mind - is the issue the original West Gate Distributor was meant to tackle: taking trucks off local roads. It was never meant to ease commuter congestion on the Westgate Bridge, rather it was about taking trucks off roads in the West, such as Yarraville's Francis Street.

It would have made the inner west safer and less polluted for residents, whilst aalso facilitating faster and more efficient trucking routes to the port. This very focused objective would have resulted in a relatively small price tag by today's infrastructure standards: $500 million. While this problem is still being addressed, the argument has been hijacked by cars, and thus its price increased tenfold. An unfortunate outcome all around.

<figure><a class="colorbox colorbox-insert-image" href="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/q_auto:good/https://s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/pictures/article-images/freight_routes.jpg" rel="gallery-all" title="Existing and proposed freight routes for the West Gate Distributor. Image courtesy Maribyrnong Truck Action Group"><img alt="" class="image-article-full-width-580px" height="512" src="/sites/urban.melbourne/files/styles/article_full_width_580px/public/pictures/article-images/freight_routes.jpg?itok=5B5owKZq" title="Existing and proposed freight routes for the West Gate Distributor. Image courtesy Maribyrnong Truck Action Group" width="580"></a>

<figcaption>Existing and proposed freight routes for the West Gate Distributor. Image courtesy Maribyrnong Truck Action Group</figcaption></figure>I fear for the long term planning of this state. The more common prospect of one-term governments has scared them into throwing all long term planning out the window, pushing short-term projects where political expediency is the only driving factor. It's a sad state of affairs when projects are delivered to satisfy public perception, despite knowing they won't go close to solving the problems, and in turn perpetuating long held myths.

It takes a great amount of political courage to make the tough decisions: not building any more urban freeways, tackling traffic head-on via congestion charging, borrowing money to fund major public transport upgrades, and forcing people to change decades long travel habits. But it seems political courage continues to be in short supply, at least where public transport is concerned.

Mr Andrews, you're better than this. You should be applauded for removing level crossings, a project decades overdue. You should be applauded for getting on with the Melbourne Metro, a project which, to quote Robert Doyle's words, will save Melbourne from a "100 year catastrophe".

But the Western Distributor is a case of "two steps forward, three steps back". You have got this far by being a public transport champion; it is those guns you need to stick to, to ensure Victoria's future is the main game here, not the 2018 election.

For further insight on the topic, see the Public Transport Users Association's take on <a href="http://www.ptua.org.au/myths/congestion/">the myth that freeways relieve traffic congestion</a>.

Lead image courtesy Transurban.
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TheHeadOnTheDoor

Distributing a myth: will a second river crossing solve congestion?

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Tollway operator Transurban has announced via <a href="http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20150430/pdf/42y7czz5nfrj9h.pdf">a market announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange</a> that it has won approval from the Victorian Government to proceed to stage 3 assessment under Spring Street's 'market-led proposal interim guidelines'.

In a nutshell, the Transurban proposal is to widen the existing West Gate Freeway between the 'Western Gateway' (the junction of the M1 and M80 freeways) and the West Gate bridge; construct a tunnel portal near the Williamstown Road interchange with a tunnel running under Yarraville to another portal on the West bank of the Maribyrnong river; and have a bridge traverse the Maribyrnong and then the road would run on an elevated structure above Footscray Road to the eastern side of Citylink.

The proposal from Transurban is one of the first projects to be made public under Spring Street's <a href="http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/Publications/Infrastructure-Delivery-publications/Market-led-Proposals-Interim-Guideline/Market-led-Proposals-Interim-Guideline">market-led proposal interim guidelines</a>. At the time of writing, the <a href="http://www.dtf.vic.gov.au/Infrastructure-Delivery/Market-led-proposals">register of projects</a> which under the interim guidelines is supposed to be updated as projects complete phase 2 has not been updated, however Transurban have published information pertaining to the project on their <a href="http://consult.transurban.com/western-distributor-join-the-conversation">website</a>.

<h2>Comment</h2>

On the face of it, this proposal seems like a sweet deal for the Andrews Government. Little Victorian taxpayer contribution, a lot of private capital flowing in and it likewise appears to fit within the ideology of the current Prime Minister who thinks the Federal Government should only be funding roads.

Yes, this project is more than likely to take a lot of trucks off the West Gate Bridge and local road network up and down the west bank of the <a href="/new-apartments/maribyrnong-vic-3032">Maribyrnong</a>, yet reading through the Transurban media release they are making claims - admittedly the audience is their shareholders which would benefit from more traffic using their roads - which fly in the face of countless amounts of research both here and globally.

Transurban claim that "the Western Distributor would nearly halve travel times for trips to the city from the M80 - West Gate Freeway interchange during the morning peak and help wipe 15 minutes off trips to the city from <a href="/new-apartments/geelong-vic-3220">Geelong</a> and Ballarat". That might be so for a short period of time, but in the long run?

Firstly on Ballarat and Geelong: the Regional Rail Link is not far off from opening which will see increased services and clearer paths taken through metropolitan Melbourne resulting in an improved and more consistent service from the city to those regional areas.

Secondly on car trips to the city in general: why on earth should that be encouraged in the first place? It might be a goal for the private operator but it should never be the goal for a growing central city that is increasing in density by the day.

Just last Friday we re-published an article from The Conversation titled '<a href="/news/do-more-roads-really-mean-less-congestion-for-commuters">Do more roads really mean less congestion for commuters</a>'; where, after explaining the concept of induced demand, it concludes by saying:

<blockquote>
Even without the extra road users that new roads create, if the new roads are built in the wrong locations congestion may actually become worse simply because of the way people behave. Roads alone do not solve congestion in the long term; they are only one (problematic) tool in a transport management toolkit.
</blockquote>

For me this proposal is more about opportunism using a faux veneer of actual need. In fact, it's overkill.

If we do have a serious problem with trucks clogging up local road networks in and around the Lower Yarra and Maribyrnong then why isn't this proposal targeted directly at freight?

Wouldn't targeting freight users of the existing road network be better carried out by reducing the scope of this proposal to having a freight-only lanes in each direction inside the current West Gate Freeway corridor that leads to a freight vehicle-only tunnel under Yarraville and then a freight-only road connection from the west bank of the Maribyrnong to Footscray Road?

Do we really want to completely encircle the Lower Yarra and Maribyrnong with Freeways/tollways? What kind of a legacy is that going to leave on the new Fishermans Bend employment precinct and mooted redevelopment areas between Dynon Road and South Kensington station?

While I have no problem with the notion of the private sector approaching the State Government with transport project proposals, and the way in which early disclosure is occurring as evidenced today is very welcome, however a positive cost to benefit ratio is not enough.

If Governments truly want to "balance" our motorised transport mix in Melbourne then they're not going to achieve it by giving the go ahead to road projects like this all the while public transport projects have decade long timeframes on them.

Spring Street should send Transurban back to the drawing board to come up with a solution that is more targeted toward freight, will not induce excessive private-vehicle demand nor encourage more people to drive to the centre of the city and will not entrench auto-centricity in the western suburbs of Melbourne.
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Comment: Transurban's Western Distributor proposal

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Negative gearing is safe for the short-term and definitely gone for the long-term simply because we are witnessing housing dynamics that have never been seen before. 
Both federal and state governments know that it’s imperative to drive Australia’s population at rates never seen before because this drives revenue.
Federally, the Abbott government is struggling to get over the mining boom demise, especially when it relates to debt and deficit.
This week I read a comment by Craig James: “Over the last 65 years the federal budget has been in deficit 71% of the time with the average deficit 0.9% of GDP."
Now back to the housing dynamics which is win, win, win for the NSW government and woe, woe, woe for the federal government. Last week <a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/2015/04/17/hold-whats-going/" target="_blank" title=" Hold – on, what’s going on here">I wrote</a>: “Secondly the big property market mover in Sydney especially is the rezoning of high density residential land into new developments. Previously this was a domain dominated by Australian developers who now can’t compete with the Asian developers. Given that it’s legal to buy new off the plan, these developments are then resold exclusively in Asia.”
The NSW government is only too well aware that the booming real estate markets are its “rivers of gold” – these revenues are vital to ensure a budget surplus is maintained and more particularly as the government is about to embark on the greatest infrastructure spend in NSW history.
In order to balance the books and remain the most prosperous state/territory in Australia the NSW government is focussed on two revenue streams – stamp duty and land tax. To make this happen NSW will see a development explosion of apartment developments with the NSW government’s blessing. It knows only too well that Asian developers are all over Sydney developments given they have enormous offshore markets to capitalise on. The business model is quite simple – the government will drive infrastructure predominately from the sale of the wires and poles and the developers will follow Pied Piper-style.
For this to happen the NSW government needs to change the mentality of local councils whom for generations have been anti-development and protective of the suburbs cultural and environmental heritage. So what the NSW government is now doing is trying to entice councils to merge so that it will then be easier to abandon the community mentality and embark on massive highrise developments. It’s all about the revenues from the developers and the ongoing stamp duty and land tax trails.
Now this may be fine for the NSW government which has just been re-elected for another four year term but it spells disaster for the federal government given the concentration is on investors who no doubt will want to remain deeply immersed in negative gearing. It also means that rents will fall although we must not forget that in the background we will see a massive population drive.
Naturally there will be a massive movement from those who were previously employed in the mining sector who will then migrate into the building and construction sector.
By all reports Sydney and surrounding areas are now on the cusp of a massive construction/real estate boom which I might point out is totally different to a property boom. This is a property investor’s boom which is completely different to the household boom which is exactly what we have been witnessing of late. The majority of the investors will come from offshore combined with Australian resident investors who will be all over the high density rezoning that we are currently witnessing.
Now many will be massively against this massive construction boom – although as I see it in the short term there is not much that can be done so we simply have to go with the flow.
In the meantime watch with interest what happens to the local council mergers especially with regard to high density rezoning – which is coming to a suburb near you. If the local councils stymy and delay new construction the government is then likely to step in in typical ‘Big Brother’ style. All I can say is watch these developments with interest given the wheels of motion have started.
Back to the negative gearing debate which I do find somewhat comical given the federal government has advised that there are no intended changes on the horizon. Well that is fair and reasonable given they are working from the 2011/12 tax figures. We all know it’s the 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15 where the property investor boom took off so for some strange reason there has been a delay releasing the 2012/13 and 2013/14 negative gearing results...
Makes one ponder just why that is or possibly just a coincidence? I’m with the former.
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robertsimeon-hRNTwJyXkQ

Is negative gearing the sacred cow or sacrificial lamb? Robert Simeon

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The internet has become a fascinating tool; it’s revolutionised how we do business today but it has also caught many governments off guard. Not to mention made them more accountable as strange as that may sound. 
For example, I have been for some time now mystified about how Australia’s house market continues to soar with Sydney prices up nearly 15% just in the past 12 months. Our unemployment rate sits at 6.1% which is the highest rate (or thereabouts) for 13 years, where of all developing countries Australia’s is the only rate increasing. And real wage growth is now at the weakest level for two decades.
Deutsche Bank has just released its fourth annual Mapping the World’s Prices report and for the fourth year in a row Australia sits at the top of the list for being the most expensive. Yes Australia is now into its 24th year of uninterrupted growth – a feat no other developed country has been able to replicate. It must have been release week as the International Monetary Fund also produced its World Economic Outlook which has economic growth still on target at 2.8% for 2015. Before we get too excited they also thought that Greece will be the strongest Eurozone economy over the next few years too.
Whilst businesses and individuals have been using and adapting this online phenomenon the same can’t be said for a government, the best case at hand is that they have no idea just who is buying Australian real estate. In 2014, I and others started writing and probing this actual point about foreign investors in Australia. This brought the treasurer Joe Hockey on 19 March 2014 to announce an inquiry and report on ‘Australia’s foreign investment policy as it applies to residential real estate’. 12 months on nothing has actually happened so it would appear that such a debate might be construed as not being politically correct. Treasurer Hockey did announce to all and sundry that he had sought a divestiture order on the $39 million sale of Villa del Mare in Point Piper – although despite claims of more to come no announcements have been made. One might think that the backlash of sentiment coming from Asia may have seen these forensic investigations put on the back-burner?
Let’s face it – Australia is one very popular destination especially when you look back at what Philip Ruddock as Immigration Minister had to say in a speech back in 2000. Back then official projections suggested that Australia’s population would reach 24 million by 2050. Just 15 years later those population targets have almost been met with the latest projections having our population as now likely to be 40 million by 2050.
I read a report recently that the Master Builders of Australia estimated that overseas buyers make up approximately 5 to 6% of Australia’s housing market. The Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) figures show for the year from July 2013, $24.8 billion in foreign investment was approved, 44% higher than the previous year.
It’s now common knowledge that the FIRB have failed miserably in their assigned duties. The problem we have is twofold. Firstly, the government has no way of precisely knowing exactly how many properties are being acquired by foreign investors – I would suggest that realistic estimations should be more than double what the FIRB are suggesting. The only way to know for sure would be to extrapolate the stamp duty data and then run that through the Australian Taxation Office data – and we all know that won’t be happening anytime soon.
Secondly the big property market mover in Sydney especially is the rezoning of high – density residential land into new developments. Previously this was a domain dominated by Australian developers who now can’t compete with the Asian developers. Given that it’s legal to buy new off the plan, these developments are then re-sold exclusively in Asia.
So what we are clearly seeing is the Asian property developers paying much more for the sites given the apartments can be sold for much more to overseas buyers – who are using the buying off the plan incentives to buy Australian real estate which is totally legal.
 When we dart back to populations we see that as of 1 January 2015, the population of China was estimated to be 1,370,811,348 people which is a bit more than our 23,790,582 as at 30 September 2014.
Maybe our federal government could lower our unemployment rate by employing some computer programmers’ to extrapolate all the countries’ stamp duty data and then cross pollinate that with Australian Tax Office data and create their (as promised) National Property Register?
<a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/files/2015/04/16-04-2015-12-10-09-PM.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-466586" src="https://www.rwm.com.au/files/2015/04/16-04-2015-12-10-09-PM.jpg" alt="16-04-2015 12-10-09 PM" width="614" height="324"></a>
<a href="https://www.rwm.com.au/files/2015/04/16-04-2015-12-10-48-PM.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-466587" src="https://www.rwm.com.au/files/2015/04/16-04-2015-12-10-48-PM.jpg" alt="16-04-2015 12-10-48 PM" width="616" height="324"></a>
Then again I’m probably spending way too much time on my computer and simply imagining what is happening to Australian residential property prices!
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Hold on, what’s going on here? Robert Simeon

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The No Land Tax Party candidate Peter Jones has missed out on his seat in the NSW Legislative Council.
The party was thought likely to win the 21st and last position up for grabs in the NS Upper House, but lost out to the Animal Justice Party.
The ABC election analyst Antony Green told 2GB's Ray Hadley that Green preferences swung the final result.
Animal Justice Party parliamentarian Mark Pearson said he was thrilled that the voice of animals would be heard in a house of parliament for the first time.
Mark Pearson is executive director of Animal Liberation in Australia.
Photo courtesy of J Bar/<a class="mw-mmv-license" href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/" target="_blank">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>.
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

No Land Tax party misses out on NSW Upper House seat

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There are three things missing from Australia’s current economic debate – honesty, bravery and conviction.
We know that the Australian tax system is badly broken however the politicians won’t do a thing to fix it simply because they are only too well aware that any such moves would jeopardise their political wellbeing.
Social media runs amok around every time the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) meets to discuss the cash rate, whilst we all know that monetary policy is failing miserably. We even have competitions to see which economists have the highest success rate by predicting the cash rate outcome.
The reality is that since the global financial crisis (GFC) we can be certain of two things – cash rates are all headed to zero (or close to) and debt and deficits keep climbing. It’s interesting to note that this year marks the fifth anniversary of the Henry Tax Review although each year it re-emerges under a different name – intergenerational report and last month’s tax discussion paper. All sadly are nothing more than public relations exercises that highlight weak governments with an inability to act.
Iron ore prices are collapsing as to the price of oil and the Aussie dollar has fallen about 20% over the last 18 months. Like most governments around the world they are now devoid of an economic conviction and simply don’t know how to start a national debate.
Here’s an idea – stump up $50 million and see which Australian businesses can come up with the best economic reforms, and that would mean stripping all current governments – local, state and federal. Of course we keep getting that old chestnut of raising the GST although the problem Australia has is so much work is done in the cash economy that the GST fails the test miserably. You wouldn’t need to increase the GST if all the loopholes were closed.
We should be looking at the economic models were the principle place of residence is taxed on profits made when sold. It should also be a tax deduction for all expenses too – that way the cash economy is significantly minimised and GST receipts increase significantly. Then the state governments can start shutting down many of their tax rorts like payroll tax, land tax and stamp duties.
There are two other very important points that need raising which highlights another problem Australia has – <a href="https://insidestory.org.au/how-to-bridge-the-infrastructure-gap" target="_blank" title="How to bridge the infrastructure gap">How to bridge the infrastructure gap</a>. “The faster our population grows, the worse our governments are performing in choosing and building the infrastructure we need to cope with that growth.”
“Three statistics issued in recent days reveal the scale of the problem.
<ul>
<li>"On 26 March, the Bureau of Statistics issued the latest population figures. They revealed that Australia has grown by more than three million people in just eight years to last September. We are gaining almost 400,000 people every year. Every two and half years or so we add another million people. 
</li>
<li>"On 31 March, the Bureau released its regional population estimates for the year to last June. They showed that almost half of that rapid population growth is going into just two cities: Melbourne and Sydney. Add Brisbane and Perth, and almost three – quarters of it is going into four cities. 
</li>
<li>"On 1 April, the Bureau released its estimates on engineering construction in 2014. You might wish it was an April Fool’s Day joke, but sadly, that’s not so. It reported that work carried out in the December quarter plunged last year for the second year in a row, falling 12.5% below the 2012 peak. 
</li>
<li>"In every mainland state, infrastructure investment is now in free-fall. In most of them – New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia – the work carried out in the December quarter was down between a quarter and a third from its recent peak.”</li>
</ul>
Now it gets even more interesting.
<ul>
<li>“But hang on, you say: isn’t that because the mining investment boom peaked in 2012? That’s true, it is winding down. And our governments have told us that that they’re increasing infrastructure investment to fill the gap, and to help sustain economic activity as the mining boom subsides. 
</li>
<li>“But what they’re doing is the exact opposite. Since 2012, the Bureau’s figures show public sector investment in infrastructure has collapsed even faster than private sector investment. In 2014 alone, it shrank 15%. Since 2012, it has shrunk 20%.”</li>
</ul>
I would think that most would agree that Australia urgently needs a public debate given our elected governments are having a shocker.
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