Foreword
Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in the world. Our cities play a pivotal role in securing the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of our nation. Cities are not only centres of economic activity and home to the vast majority of Australians, they are also gateways for the important economic and cultural contribution of regional Australia. Our cities also have a strategic contribution to make to Australia's global competitiveness in an increasingly urbanised world.
The Australian Government is committed to forging a fairer, more prosperous and resilient future for Australia and is determined that Australian cities will lead the world in productivity, sustainability and liveability.
As with many cities internationally, Australian cities are confronted by significant long-term challenges including population growth and demographic change, climate change, increasing fuel costs and resource limitations, housing affordability, technological change, and the accelerating processes of globalisation. As concentrated centres of people and activity, cities provide immense social and economic opportunity, as well as substantial potential, to redress environmental pressures.
The way in which governments plan and manage our cities needs to respond effectively to these challenges whilst harnessing opportunities. This will be critical to maintaining and improving the quality of life enjoyed by our communities and to securing the nation's productivity into the future.
On 1 December 2010, the Australian Government released Our Cities—building a productive, sustainable and liveable future discussion paper, accompanied by a background and research paper Our Cities—the challenge of change. These documents set out the Australian Government's aspirations for a national approach to planning and managing our cities, and invited contributions to a national discussion on the future of our cities. I thank all who participated in this dialogue, and in particular to the many individuals and organisations that committed time and energy to lodging submissions.
The Australian Government is now taking the next step in setting a framework for how—in partnership with State, Territory and local governments, business and the community—we can deliver on the aspirations Australians have for our urban communities.
This Ministerial Statement establishes the Australian Government's objectives and directions for our cities as we prepare for the decades ahead. It recognises the critical roles of State, Territory and local governments, the private sector and individuals, in planning, managing and investing in cities. It also highlights that the Australian Government makes decisions that impact upon urban Australia. This is the first time that an Australian Government has sought to outline its overarching goals for the nation's cities and how we will play a role in making them more productive, sustainable and liveable.
The National Urban Policy is about how the Australian Government can facilitate better outcomes in our cities through both direct investment and by influencing the actions of others. It shows where we have already started to make substantial reforms, and proposes additional critical actions to set us on the path to creating better cities. The Australian Government has already demonstrated its commitment to better outcomes for Australian cities through simplified regulatory environments and its significant unprecedented funding of public transport projects across most of Australia's capital cities. These efforts are part of a much more substantial reform agenda.
This National Urban Policy sets a vision for our cities to deliver future prosperity and wellbeing for our communities and reinforces the Council of Australian Governments' (COAG) national objective to ensure Australian cities are globally competitive, productive, sustainable, liveable, socially inclusive and well placed to meet future challenges and growth.
The National Urban Policy complements the Australian Government's forthcoming Sustainable Population Strategy and our ongoing focus and commitment to Regional Australia. It recognises the strong interrelationships between cities and regions. The policy does not focus on capital cities alone, but recognises the important role that our major regional centres also play, and the substantial challenges that they face in dealing with the complexities of the modern economy.
I am very proud to present, through this Statement, the principal elements of the National Urban Policy. This is a key step to making our cities more productive, sustainable and liveable and I look forward to continuing strong partnerships in delivering it.
Anthony Albanese
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