Investment key to driving our recovery

Property Council of Australia’s Chris Mountford.

WITH the Queensland election fast approaching, the Townsville region is shaping as a key battleground.

Jobs and the economic recovery are central issues to the campaign with both minor and major parties making commitments to address these concerns.

Townsville’s property industry, which accounts for 16.5 per cent of all jobs, is well placed to capitalise on policies aimed at unlocking private investment.

While the array of stimulus measures announced so far are welcomed, the scale of the economic recovery measures.

An incoming Queensland government needs to prioritise economic policies that incentivise large scale interstate and international investment.

Now is the time to be bold, innovative and move policy ideas across from the ‘too hard basket’.

Queensland’s foreign land tax surcharge and Additional Foreign Acquirer Duty mean that Queensland has the most uncompetitive taxation setting for foreign investors. With research showing that every $1bn of foreign investment creates 1000 local jobs, Queensland will require further simply can’t afford to miss out on the opportunity to attract international investment.

The underlying fundamentals that have assured growth for Queensland’s property industry and the wider economy in the past are now less certain.

The impact of COVID-19 will mean that immigration and tourism will lag, with lower population growth expected in Queensland in the short term.

To address this, an incoming government will need to launch a population policy and relocation campaign that will drive growth in our cities and regions and provide businesses with confidence that things will eventually return to normal.

The government needs to address the regulatory issues that have been a drag on our economy in the past.

To ensure long-term growth, the government needs to commit to cutting red and green tape.

We are facing a significant economic challenge and cannot afford to be weighed down by the same inefficiencies that curbed growth previously.

Chris Mountford is Queensland executive director of the Property Council of Australia.