New Housing Supply Expert Panel appointed for South East Queensland

Housing two million additional people in south-east Queensland by 2041 will be top of the agenda for the Palaszczuk Government’s new Housing Supply Expert Panel, which had its first meeting in recent days.

The panel will provide transparent, independent advice to the government about how to measure, report on and address land supply, development and housing affordability issues in south-east Queensland.

Minister for State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning Cameron Dick said the state’s expected population increase will require about 794,000 new dwellings to be delivered over that time.

“It’s important that we manage growth efficiently, while keeping a close eye on housing affordability,” Mr Dick said.

“The panel will provide independent advice to the government on how to manage housing supply and affordability issues in south-east Queensland.”

Mr Dick said the panel consists of high calibre professionals from across the property, planning, economics and demography disciplines.

“The nine panel members were chosen from a range of fields related to various aspects of housing supply,” he said. 

“Each member brings a different set of skills and expertise which will ensure the best possible advice is provided to the Queensland Government on land supply and development matters.

“The panel will also provide expert oversight to the Department of State Development, Manufacturing, Infrastructure and Planning’s annual land supply and development monitoring reports, the first of which is expected to be released at the end of 2018.” 

Panel Chair and Knight Frank Associate Director Julie Saunders said the Palaszczuk Government should be commended on establishing the panel.

“The panel will play an integral role in providing independent advice to ensure the region’s housing supply can accommodate the projected growth and to help shape future decisions on land supply matters in south-east Queensland,” Ms Saunders said.

“Members bring a wealth of experience and expertise from across the country to support this important initiative.”

Property Council Queensland Executive Director Chris Mountford has welcomed the Queensland Cabinet’s approval of the independent panel to oversee the government’s growth monitoring program.

“The property industry has led the call for an independent panel of experts to be established to examine and report on housing supply issues in SEQ,” Mr Mountford said.

“The data and recommendations produced by this panel will play a crucial role in ensuring we have the policy settings in place to deliver the range of housing required to keep up with population growth, and maintain affordability in to the future.”

The Queensland Government has committed $5 million over two years to deliver the SEQ Growth Monitoring Program, which will report annually on land supply and development activity in the region.

The establishment of the panel is in response to a joint submission from the Property Council of Australia and the Queensland Council of Social Servcies on the draft South East Queensland Regional Plan 2017, ShapingSEQ.

The submission made the case for an independent agency to be established to monitor land supply and development to match population growth.

For more information please visit: https://planning.dsdmip.qld.gov.au/planning/better-planning/state-planning/regional-plans/seqrp

ENDS

Media contact: Catherine Palmer 0424 823 424

Housing Supply Expert Panel

The following people have been appointed to the Housing Supply Expert Panel for two years.

Julie Saunders, QLD, panel chair: Julie has extensive experience in the town planning field across state and local government, as well as private industry. She is currently the Associate Director for Commercial Sales at Knight Frank.

Dr Elin Charles-Edwards, QLD: Dr Charles-Edwards is a qualified demographer and population geographer. She is currently a Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Queensland and the lead Chief Investigator on an Australian Research Council Linkage grant on the estimation of temporary populations in Australia. She brings a wealth of knowledge in relation to migration, mobility and the ways in which populations vary over space and time to the panel.

Nerida Conisbee, NSW: Nerida is one of Australia’s leading property market experts and has 20 years experience in the property research industry. She is currently the Chief Economist for the REA Group and has extensive experience in property and urban economics and data analysis.

Dr Michael Fotheringham, VIC: Dr Fotheringham has experience in housing research and social issues relating to housing and is currently the Executive Director at Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute. Dr Fotheringham has worked with not-for-profit, government and academic organisations.

Laurel Johnson, QLD: Laurel is an urban, regional and social planner with extensive experience in the public, private and academic sectors. Currently an academic at the University of Queensland’s School of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the urban and regional planning program, Ms Johnson provides valuable social planning knowledge and expertise to the panel.

Sonya Keep, QLD: Sonya has more than 18 years experience in the areas of social planning and community housing. She is the Chief Executive Officer of Common Ground Queensland and is dedicated to seeing an increase in the supply of affordable and supportive housing for those who are vulnerable or at risk of experiencing homelessness.

Warren Rowe, QLD: Warren has more than 35 years experience across a range of areas including strategic and statutory planning, regional planning, policy development, development control, infrastructure planning and delivery, urban design and housing policy. He is currently the Planner in Residence at the University of Queensland and an Adjunct Professor in the Cities Program at Griffith University.

Ben Slack, QLD: Ben is a leading urban planner with more than 25 years experience in both the public and private sectors. He is currently a Regional Director with Urbis and provides valuable knowledge and experience to the panel in the areas of land use and infrastructure planning, as well as property economics and data analysis.

Dr Marcus Spiller, VIC: Dr Spiller is an urban economist and planner with extensive experience in public policy analysis. He is currently a Principal, Partner and Director at SGS Economics and Planning Pty Ltd. Prior to this, Dr Spiller worked as a strategic planner in both state and local government.