State of Australian cities 2014-2015: progress in Australian regions

Provides insight into the vital role that Australian cities play in the growth of the countries economy and tracks the overall progress made in Australia\u27s major centres. Summary Since 2010, the State of Australian Cities reports have examined the progress being made in our major cities. These reports have provided insight into the vital role that Australian cities play in the growth of our economy and have tracked the overall progress made in Australia\u27s major centres. The State of Australian Cities 2014–2015 once again looks at the drivers behind some of the public policy issues facing the country today and into the future. Australia is a highly urbanised country. The populations of Australia\u27s major cities are at record levels, as is the number of people employed. It is in our cities that the overwhelming majority of jobs are located and where the most new jobs are being created. The economic output of our major cities has grown and their national importance remains extremely high. However, alongside that growth there is more demand on transport systems in Australia than ever before. This report examines population growth, economic growth and the increased traffic flows through our ports and airports and on our roads and rail lines. Issues of space and the potential conflicts of the usability of cities with the utility and long term capacity of freight hubs, ports and airports and the movement of goods and people in cities is a challenge for policy makers. This report provides the evidence base for policy makers at all levels of government to consider those challenges now and into the future

Productive cities: opportunity in a changing economy

Most Australians live and work in cities. They are essential to generating growth and to creating and distributing opportunities. Cities are shaped by where people live, where they work, and how they get around. When these three things are in tune with the structure of the economy, cities operate efficiently and productively, and drive growth and innovation.This report examines housing, income and travel data in Australia\u27s four largest cities and reveals strains in the triangle of work, home and transport that could threaten national prosperity.Addressing these issues will provide a significant boost to national productivity, because as the economy becomes more knowledge intensive, deep labour markets and good links between firms become more important.Firms engaged in high-knowledge activities benefit from connections that enable them to collaborate and learn from one another. They locate in places with deep labour markets to ensure that they can attract the talent and skill they need.This report reveals, however, that labour markets are shallow in significant parts of Australia‟s biggest cities. In many suburbs – particularly outer suburbs – residents can reach fewer than 10 per cent of all metropolitan jobs with a reasonable commuting time.Increasingly, employees with high-level qualifications and high incomes live close to the heart of our cities. Meanwhile, workers with trade skills or low skills, and people on lower incomes, tend to live further from the centre. Rising house prices have exacerbated this divide. If this polarisation continues, then many people risk being locked out of the parts of the city that offer the richest access to jobs.How can government\u27s respond? Governments are frequently called upon to create jobs in outer suburban areas by offering incentives to business to relocate or by building new employment clusters from scratch. Yet there is little evidence that such policies work. A better option is to move people closer to jobs. This can be done in two ways. First, the supply and diversity of dwellings in existing suburbs can be increased. Previous Grattan research has shown that people want more housing choice. It can be created if the disincentives developers face are addressed, if suburbs are not locked down by restrictive zoning and planning rules and if residents are engaged up front in decisions affecting their neighbourhoods.Second, the transport system‟s capacity to connect people and jobs can and must be improved. That means better road systems and better public transport. Facing up to the challenges of road use pricing would go a long way to ensuring that space on city roads goes to the most important and most productive uses, and could raise revenue to help increase public transport capacity.The shape of our cities is above all an economic issue. Giving knowledge-intensive firms access to more workers would make them more productive. It would also give workers more opportunities to find rewarding jobs. Better functioning cities would unleash higher productivity, and provide everyone with more opportunities. In this case, what is good for the economy is also good for the fair go

Mapping Australia’s economy: cities as engines of prosperity

This report maps the Australian economy by the location of economic activity, defined as the dollar value of goods and services produced by workers within a particular area. Overview Eighty per cent of the value of all goods and services produced in Australia is generated on just 0.2 per cent of the nation’s land mass – mostly in cities. Today, cities are the engines of economic prosperity. But the concentration of highly productive activity in city centres presents challenges for policymakers. Too many workers live too far away to fulfil our cities’ economic potential. This report maps the Australian economy by the location of economic activity, defined as the dollar value of goods and services produced by workers within a particular area. It finds that economic activity is concentrated most heavily in the central business districts (CBDs) and inner areas of large cities. The CBDs of Sydney and Melbourne – just 7.1 square kilometres in total – generated $118 billion in 2011-12, almost 10 per cent of all economic activity in Australia, and triple the contribution of the entire agriculture sector. The intense economic contribution of CBDs occurs partly because of the concentration of jobs in these areas. But CBD businesses are also much more productive on average than those in other areas. Inner city areas and secondary commercial hubs, such as those around large cities’ airports, also tend to be more productive than other locations. For example, in 2011-12 the Sydney CBD produced$64.1 billion worth of goods and services: about $100 for every hour worked there. Employing only 13 per cent of Sydney’s workforce, this small area generates almost a quarter of the value of the Greater Sydney economy. Parramatta, often said to be Sydney’s second CBD, generated only$68 for each hour worked, and its total of $6.8 billion was about a tenth of the value generated in the CBD. There is a reason intense economic activity is concentrating in CBDs and inner suburbs. Many businesses in these areas provide highly knowledge-intensive and specialised services such as funds management, insurance, design, engineering and international education. These businesses depend on highly skilled workers, and locating in the heart of large cities gives them access to the largest possible pools of them. Proximity to suppliers, customers and partners also helps businesses to work efficiently, to generate opportunities and to come up with new ideas and ways of working. Knowledge-intensive activity is present in all sectors, including manufacturing and mining. Perth’s CBD is home to more than a third of Western Australian mining jobs, including accountants, administrators, geologists and specialist engineers. In the early 20th century one in three workers were employed in primary industry and almost half of the population lived on rural properties or in towns of less than 3,000 people. By 1960 manufacturing had grown to make up almost 30 per cent of GDP and employ one in four Australians, with a big presence in suburban areas. But today the small areas that generate most value are often a very long commute from the fast-growing outer suburbs in which many Australians live. If the prosperity that comes from knowledge-intensive activity is to be widely shared, governments need to enable more people to live closer to these areas, and to improve road and public transport networks so that they better connect employers and workers

The library dividend: summary report

This study explores the value of public libraries in Queensland. It finds that for every $100 invested by local government and state government, Queensland public libraries deliver$230 dollars worth of value to their communities. It also found that nearly 50% of all Queenslanders are members of a public library and those who are not library users value what libraries offer

A review of methodologies applied in Australian practice to evaluate long-term coastal adaptation options

Rising sea levels have the potential to alter coastal flooding regimes around the world and local governments are beginning to consider how to manage uncertain coastal change. In doing so, there is increasing recognition that such change is deeply uncertain and unable to be reliably described with probabilities or a small number of scenarios. Characteristics of methodologies applied in Australian practice to evaluate long-term coastal adaptation options are reviewed and benchmarked against two state-of-the-art international methods suited for conditions of uncertainty (Robust Decision Making and Dynamic Adaptive Policy Pathways). Seven out of the ten Australian case studies assumed the uncertain parameters, such as sea level rise, could be described deterministically or stochastically when identifying risk and evaluating adaptation options across multi-decadal periods. This basis is not considered sophisticated enough for long-term decision-making, implying that Australian practice needs to increase the use of scenarios to explore a much larger uncertainty space when assessing the performance of adaptation options. Two Australian case studies mapped flexible adaptation pathways to manage uncertainty, and there remains an opportunity to incorporate quantitative methodologies to support the identification of risk thresholds. The contextual framing of risk, including the approach taken to identify risk (top-down or bottom-up) and treatment of uncertain parameters, were found to be fundamental characteristics that influenced the methodology selected to evaluate adaptation options. The small sample of case studies available suggests that long-term coastal adaptation in Australian is in its infancy and there is a timely opportunity to guide local government towards robust methodologies for developing long-term coastal adaptation plans

The Richmond-Tweed region: an economic profile

Examines the Richmond-Tweed region in New South Wales, looking at its administrative and productive structure and the influences that currently bear on it. Introduction The Richmond-Tweed region (also known as the Northern Rivers) has experienced substantial changes. During the nineteenth century the driving force in production and employment, throughout the region, was primary production. During the twentieth century, the region effectively divided into two: a relatively urbanised coastal strip growing faster in association with neighbouring Queensland, and an inland zone that retains more of the region’s rural origins. In both portions of the region, nevertheless, the services sector has emerged as the predominant area of employment. This e-brief examines the region, looking at its administrative and productive structure and the influences that currently bear on it. There are at least four outstanding features which define the region: the sub-tropical climate; the long length of coastline (around 120 kilometres); the significant tracts of rainforest (preserved in areas such as the Mount Warning, Nightcap and Border Ranges national parks); and its proximity to Queensland. In this e-brief the name “Richmond-Tweed” is used primarily because that is the nomenclature adopted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) in its new regional geography, which is relied on here for labour force data. Geographically, this region is very nearly identical to the Regional Development Australia (RDA) Northern Rivers region: with the exception that the RDA region includes the Clarence Valley LGA, which the ABS “Richmond-Tweed” SA4 does not

Home Truths: The Real Housing Story in Western Sydney

Both the quantitative data and the stories from those on the ground point to one thing – a housing crisis in Western Sydney. There are a confluence of factors that have led to this crisis. Low property completion rates, soaring housing costs and a lack of meaningful progress on social and affordable housing development have all been identified as contributors to the current situation. However, these is immaterial for households experiencing unprecedented levels of pressure, particularly those on very low incomes. There was a time when social and affordable housing was more abundant, however as the report outlines we are a long way from meeting current and future demand. What once was an accessible safety net for households, enabling them to access safe and secure accommodation, has been replaced with a long waitlist, with the expected waiting time for social housing in many parts of Western Sydney exceeding ten years. The Home Truths report features data from several key sources, with analysis conducted by the Centre for Western Sydney articulating the nuances which must be considered when tackling the housing crisis in the region. Importantly it articulates five clear, tangible priorities for action. Each of these are designed to complement existing commitments from all levels of government and policy platforms of advocacy and lobby groups, supporting the delivery of appropriate housing for current and future residents in Western Sydney

Social and Affordable Housing in Thames-Coromandel District

A commissioned report into housing needs of the Thames Coromandel region. Prepared as part of a Research Office Voucher Project. The report examines housing conditions, as well as particularly vulnerable groups in the region in relation to housing