Industry has welcomed the creation of Australia's very first portfolio for the Cities and the Built Environment. Newly appointed Minister, Jamie Briggs, outlines his immediate priorities for the months ahead.
We are one of the most urbanised countries on earth. Our cities represent some 80 per cent of our GDP, more than two thirds of all our jobs. Most people live in and around our major cities.
By 2060, it is estimated by Infrastructure Australia that both Sydney and Melbourne will be the size of modern New York; they'll have eight million people. At the moment we have four million people so it is a substantial change.
People want to be in and around cities because that's where the jobs are. The knowledge economy is a clustered economy. Within 10 kilometres of our CBDs there are eight available jobs per person compared to only three jobs per person in the outer suburbs.
This is why accessibility to housing is important; accessibility to housing nearer to where you work.
This is a key challenge as we battle for that global talent. We are in a battle for the best talent across the globe, whether they've been produced in Australia or whether we are trying to attract from across the globe.
We have 20,000 Australians based in Silicon Valley, using their skills, their entrepreneurial spirit to drive the United States' economy, not ours.
The Commonwealth's role in this is not to take over existing functions from the states. I want to work with the state government, and local government to get a better system, to have an overall approach to our cities. the country, on a horses by courses situation. What will work in Sydney and New South Wales won't necessarily be the same as what will work in South Australia and Adelaide.
The first focus of the Federal Government is the master planning approach. Thinking about our cities in a longer term sense. We can do this by giving greater certainty to developers with the Federal Government's environmental protection legislation addressed in advance, not just on a case by case basis, on a holistic approach. And there is provision in the Act already for that to be the case, to ensure that we can work with state governments to get that longer term planning.
A large amount of Commonwealth funding is going towards infrastructure. But the Federal Government has never used infrastructure funding to the states or local government to get desired policy outcomes. That is a discussion we need to have.
The final point where the Federal Government will work with the states is to make our cities more liveable. Looking at urban water systems and how we can improve the operation of urban water systems, using more renewable power in our cities. Using the modern technology to ensure that we are getting power sources which are sustainable for the future.
We need outcomes we can measure. Australia wants to be the best we can be, to grow faster than what we are now.
We are well placed, we are well positioned. We start from a high base, but our competition will catch us quickly unless we put in place systems which ensure our cities, our key economic assets in Australia, take advantage of that future.
About the Contributor - In 2008, Briggs won a by-election which was held to replace the retiring Alexander Downer in the federal South Australian seat of Mayo. Following the 2013 election, he was appointed Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development in the Abbott Ministry.
In 2015, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull appointed Briggs the first federal Minister for Cities and the Built Environment to develop a new agenda for our cities. Prior to entering Parliament, he studied a Bachelor of Management at the University of South Australia and has since undertaken post graduate studies in international relations.