SDGCI 2009 Conference
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GREG SHORT ‘Why we are here’
Greg is president of Sustainable Development Gold Coast Inc and Managing Director of Bennett+Bennett, long established consulting
surveyors, planners and development consultants of the Gold Coast, Brisbane and Ipswich.
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GEOFF BURCHILL ‘Managing Business through Cycles’
He will speak about cycles being real and inevitable; being about money; and about people behaving badly; what we can learn today from
past experiences; and why universities and industry associations should teach the fundamentals for reading cycles.
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ALTON ABRAHAMS ‘Finding the money’
Alton will speak on the state of the finance market and provide an understanding of where his group sees things
moving forward.
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PETER MITCHELL ‘Picking up the positives in a capital calamity’
As a significant broad acre property investor with completed value of $350 million, Peter’s talk today centres on his vision for the Tweed
region and why the seamless border allows Tweed and Gold Coast, despite different local governments, to move forward faster into more
prosperous times. It will also include in a case study style one man’s way of launching a major property project successfully amidst the global
financial crisis.
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DAVID RANSOM ‘Overcoming disincentives to new investment’
David will identify how current planning controls in the City of Gold Coast act as deterrents and attractors to development investment within
the city and explore the reasons why. Specifically David will examine the financial impacts on development associated with the Priority
Infrastructure plan and Infrastructure Policies introduced by Gold Coast City Council in 2005 and 2007 respectively and examine the impact this
is having on the pattern of development and the undermining of state and federal economic stimulus objectives.
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GREG FORGAN-SMITH ‘The State government’s SEQ 2031 building targets and beyond’
Greg will draw our attention to the next 100 years on the Gold Coast and make us confront our city’s future shape, scale and values. Will we
continue to follow the sprawling American suburban dream or will we invent a much more compact transportation and infrastructure efficient
model of our own? Do we aspire to European city models? Do our value systems have to change to achieve the density targets now required
by our state?
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JULIE HARRIS ‘The implications of the SEQ Regional Plan for the Gold Coast’
Julie will look at the implications of the SEQ Regional Plan for Gold Coast. This will include dwelling targets, the increasing proportion of infill
development, and transport futures. She will also mention Council’s recent work on their expanded activity centre strategy.
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STEPHEN MOORE ‘Futuristic yet realistic options for city planning today’
Stephen will look into micro planning models of components of our future city. Are we seeing examples today and can we use them? How
best can we plan for this “new” or is it “old” city building? Is change so bad or do we have to change our values at all to accept a new and
perhaps different city?
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PROFESSOR PAUL BURTON ‘There’s more to growth than getting bigger’
Paul will argue that we need to think about other aspects of the growth of our cities and not become preoccupied with population. While
housing a growing population is important, we need to think also about providing jobs, social and community services and a better sense of
place. There are also important decisions to be taken about how the growing city is governed and whether we can better combine strong leadership
with effective community engagement.
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DAVID POWER ‘Tipping the scales in favour of balance’
David explains in his address that to understand what is lacking within the leadership of our city we must first review the symptoms. By diagnosing
the symptoms we can introduce the necessary treatment to set the path for recovery. The simplistic view of “vote them out” will produce nothing
more than another batch of populist leaders and a bureaucracy that is empowered more each year by legislation that emasculates the very essence
of democracy.
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MICHAEL MATUSIK ‘Recognising the private sector’s critical role in building cities’
The Gold Coast needs to build 8,500 new dwellings each year. At present, new starts are running at half this level. Unemployment is around 6.5%, a
full 2% higher than Brisbane. Why? A lack of Greenfield land; too many taxes and charges on new development and poor city governance. Close to
13% of jobs on the Gold Coast are created by the development industry, most of which is involved in the residential sector. Without a buoyant property
market, the Gold Coast suffers badly.
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JIM SOORLEY ‘Government decision making and bureaucracy – a positive or negative influence on our lives, our cities and our economy?’
Jim will highlight the current difficulties for all levels of Government in Australia to be proactive and decisive. He will also highlight the ridiculous and
counterproductive planning, strategies and demands. Planners....killers or kids.
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ANDREW DAVIS ‘Approvals systems – what’s needed?’
Andrew will discuss the new Sustainable Planning Act 2009. What changes are being made to the development assessment system and what changes
should have been made. Outside of the law, what changes could be made to make things better?
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PETER TRATHEN ‘Rescue Patrol 09’
Peter will provide a brief update on what’s happening from the work undertaken
in March.
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PETER McGrath – Real Estate Institute of Queensland
Peter is Immediate Past Chairman and current Board member the REIQ.
He has a very close understanding of influences and trends in real estate business in South-East Queensland and
will speak on the effects of the current financial crisis on the property market.
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JOHN CRITALL – Queensland Master Builders Association
John will talk about the implications of the Federal government’s recent changes to industrial legislation for the
productivity of city building under growth conditions in South-East Queensland.
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GRAHAM STAERK ‘A dramatic new Governance proposal for the Gold Coast’
The Gold City Council is structurally and therefore politically broken.
Management (the administration) are snubbing the Board (the councillors) with bureaucrats playing merry hell
with city policy and finances. Ratepayers are paying for it in higher rates and infrastructure charges. The GCCC
therefore needs a City of Gold Coast Act of State Parliament to re-empower the elected representatives; give the
serving city Mayor the grunt to confront the bureaucracy and to create a more democratic Council.
This and other pertinent measures Graham discusses here in stark reality are thought provoking messages he
believes the business community needs to back for a strong reform program, claiming that without a better
Council system we will never get a better city.
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