Engineers and consultants have welcomed Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's announcement to appoint a Minister for Cities if Labor wins the September 7 federal election.
Rudd said it was 'about time that the 80 per cent of Australians who live in cities ''get a look in''.
He said Australian cities faced a range of planning challenges and too little attention has been given to urban policy.
''It's where 80 per cent of Australians live. It's about time they had a look in,'' he said.
''We have ministers for regional development, we have ministers for primary industries but we do not have ministers responsible for our cities, the cities that generate around 80 per cent of the country's gross domestic product and employ three out of every four Australians," Rudd said.
He also vowed to set up a taskforce to look at boosting jobs and economic growth in the outer suburbs, and said better roads and public transport infrastructure would ease cost of living pressures.
''The truth is many of our national major cities [are] on the verge of gridlock so the minister for cities would work with colleagues to reduce congestion through, for example, investment in public transport or investment in bike paths,'' he said.
''The minister would integrate transport and planning and oversee the co-ordination between federal, state and local Governments at a national level for the future of our cities.''
Industry association representing built environment consultancy firms, Consult Australia welcomed the announcement, declaring it a missing piece for cities.
Consult Australia CEO, Megan Motto said the move is an important step towards realising the full potential of cities and said it demands bi-partisan support.
“The leadership, vision and investment facilitated through a Minister for Cities will help boost productivity and jobs and provide for more sustainable growth across our urban centres,”Motto said.
“It would be naive of anyone to criticise the creation of a Federal Minister for Cities as treading on the patch of local or state government.
“This provides a missing piece of governance that will help deliver national policy priorities, support smart infrastructure investment and see better health, education, business and environmental outcomes across Australia.
As part of the Urban Coalition of 10 leading industry bodies, Consult Australia has consistently lobbied for the appointment of a Minister for Cities, and also the establishment of a National Urban Fund to unlock private sector finance for infrastructure investment.
“We must move beyond the election patchwork of grants to new and innovative funding models that release new investment in infrastructure," she said.
Rudd's announcement was also welcomed by the Green Building Council of Australia (GBCA).
The council's chief operating officer, Robin Mellon said the GBCA applauds the announcement and seeks a similar commitment from the Coalition.
"We also welcome the commitment to expand the Major Cities Unit – but look forward to more detail on what this would entail," Mellon said.
"We are also still waiting for both parties to provide fully costed polices to support more sustainable cities and communities."
