Well they will never be able to afford a property in Manhattan, however with could transport systems out to Queens or Brooklyn affordable housing will be made available. Likewise Sydney. I liked Turnbull's concept of a 30 minute city. His notion was to have all residential areas no more than 30 mins away from the CBDs of Sydney City, Parramatta, Hurstville, Chatswood etc. High speed rail will also allow merkins from the burbs to shoot into their desired city for easy access to work.
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Turnbull's vision for '30 minute' cities
Naomi Woodley reported this story on
Friday, April 29, 2016 18:05:00
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PETER LLOYD: Malcolm Turnbull has outlined another of his big ideas.
The Prime Minister has outlined a vision of "30 minute cities", where congestion is eased and housing is more affordable.
But Malcolm Turnbull says much of the Government's plan to achieve that is still under development.
Next week's budget will include $50 million to speed up planning and development work on major projects, and there'll be a new government unit to encourage private sector investment.
By contrast, the Greens say the Government should be issuing long-term bonds, to invest up to $75 billion in infrastructure over the next 10 years.
From Canberra, Naomi Woodley reports.
NAOMI WOODLEY: The big picture infrastructure policies of the Government, Opposition and Greens are now all on the table ahead of this year's federal election.
Although as the Prime Minister acknowledged at the city summit in Melbourne today, there's still work to do.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: This is early days in the development of this policy. We're releasing this today and we are seeking the work in a very collaborative way and we're looking forward to the input from you.
NAOMI WOODLEY: Malcolm Turnbull has outlined his vision for so-called 'city deals' to be struck between all levels of government, to deliver suburbs where residents can get to school or work within a reasonable amount of time - like 30 minutes.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: They'd be a contract between all the stake-holders; the Government, business, industry and the community. An agreement if you like that identifies the clear and measurable goals for a city or a region and agrees on a coordinated investment plan.
NAOMI WOODLEY: Next week's budget will include $50 million to spend up planning and development work and for a financing unit to come up with new ways to fund projects. Malcolm Turnbull says the federal government's days of simply offering up cash grants are at an end.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: The critical thing that we need to do is ensure that our investments make a difference. That every dollar we spend is coordinated with the other levels of government to ensure that we get those outcomes of better, more open space, better amenity, greater liveability, more opportunities to work closer to where you live.
And of course a very important issue, more affordable housing.
NAOMI WOODLEY: The Prime Minister says public money is still required but the Government wants to pursue ways to capture some of the value a project would bring to its local area.
MALCOLM TURNBULL: How can we leverage the tax payer's dollar to get a better urban outcome from the investment?
NAOMI WOODLEY: The Opposition leader Bill Shorten says the Government's plan is light on detail, compared to Labor's policy.
BILL SHORTEN: Six months ago, Anthony Albanese, my transport spokesperson and myself outlined a $10 billion concrete bank with firm proposals to help reinvest in public transport in our big cities. To help reinvest in necessary roads to clear congestion so that people can have better productivity and better quality of life.
NAOMI WOODLEY: Labor would turn infrastructure Australia into that $10 billion financing facility, with just over $6 billion of that to be raised by issuing Government bonds.
The Greens also see a role for Government bonds, but on a much larger scale and managed by an independent infrastructure bank. The Green's Senator Peter Whish-Wilson says $75 billion could be spent on infrastructure in the next 10 years using Government debt issued at today's low interest rates.
PETER WHISH-WILSON: This has been encouraged by the International Monetary Fund for example, and even the Governor of the Reserve Bank, so now's the time to be doing it.
NAOMI WOODLEY: Senator Whish-Wilson has been chairing a Senate committee considering Australia's system of funding infrastructure.
PETER WHISH-WILSON: One thing that the committee heard was that there is a significant appetite out there to invest in infrastructure, but many investors, be they super funds, or be they other investors, feel that the system is too political, it's not transparent, they don't have the information that they feel is necessary for their risk profiles.
NAOMI WOODLEY: Today, the committee's made 11 recommendations, including an increase in government borrowing, and a requirement for states and territories to introduce a broad-based land tax if they want access to funding from government bonds.
Neither Labor nor the Government issued a dissenting report or any additional comments, which Peter Whish-Wilson says is encouraging.
PETER WHISH-WILSON: I think the bigger story here is that the three major political parties in this country are essentially moving towards in the same direction. The new process, the new way of financing and structure in this country.
NAOMI WOODLEY: He says the social benefit of infrastructure must be a future consideration, as well as projects in regional areas.
PETER WHISH-WILSON: Places like Rockhampton, Launceston, Geraldton, and the kind of infrastructure that these places are calling out for include water pipelines, power stations, new dams for water supply, new communications towers, new shelters for women.
There are a number of things there that we would classify as infrastructure that aren't getting financed because our systems set up for financing big iconic projects.
NAOMI WOODLEY: The Greens say a series of smaller projects can be just as beneficial to the nation as a major road or rail link in Australia's big cities.
PETER LLOYD: Naomi Woodley reporting.
https://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2016/s4452888.htm
