The Urban Taskforce Australia is an industry organisation representing property development interests in Australia. It has been described in the media as one of the "most powerful lobby groups" in NSW. The "sunny face for an often shady business" - offering intimacy with "ministers and senior

bureaucrat A bureaucrat is a member of a bureaucracy and can compose the administration of any organization of any size, although the term usually connotes someone within an institution of government. The term ''bureaucrat'' derives from "bureaucracy", w ...

s" and boasts former NSW Liberal premier Nick Greiner and former Labor premier

Neville Wran Neville Kenneth Wran, (11 October 1926 – 20 April 2014) was an Australian politician who was the Premier of New South Wales from 1976 to 1986. He was the national president of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) from 1980 to 1986 and chairman ...

as co-patrons—it describes its membership as "Australia's most prominent property developers and equity financiers".Urban Taskforce Australia "Representing property developers and equity financiers"
urbantaskforce.com.au; accessed 16 September 2015. According to the Taskforce it provides "a forum for people involved in the development and planning of the urban environment to engage in constructive dialogue with both government and the community." Its mission is to promote: efficient planning and environment laws; quality

urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and regional spaces, urban d ...

; increased economic activity; and improved

quality of life Quality of life (QOL) is defined by the World Health Organization as "an individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems in which they live and in relation to their goals, expectations, standards ...

in urban communities.

History

The Urban Taskforce was founded in 1999 when a number of property developers and equity property financiers decided that they had a different view of the planning system than dedicated fund managers, asset managers and many property consultants. The founding director of the Urban Taskforce was David Tanevski from KWC Capital Partners who continues in the role of Hon. Secretary Treasurer.Urban Taskforce Australia - About Us
urbantaskforce.com.au; accessed 16 September 2015. Its started as a NSW only group, but eventually became a national organisation. While dominated by property developers and equity financiers, its membership also includes "key" builders, architects, urban planners, economists and lawyers involved in the planning and development industry.

Controversy

The Taskforce has not been without controversy. The then Premier of NSW,

Bob Carr Robert John Carr (born 28 September 1947) is an Australian retired politician and journalist who served as the 39th Premier of New South Wales from 1995 to 2005, as the leader of the NSW Branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He later en ...

, launched it in 1999, prompting questions in Parliament. In 2007 the NSW Greens Party gave the Taskforce the dubious honour of a "Bad Developer" award for "most insidious industry lobbying effort" for its campaign to have the planning laws rewritten to remove local councils from decision-making about developments. However, the Taskforce also averred that it did not think councils should be stripped of powers altogether. A Greens

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

cited with approval the Urban Taskforce’s support for a complete ban on donations to political parties.

Activities

Urban Taskforce's achievements appear to include a cut in developer levies, exempting vast swathes of Sydney's "growth areas" from

threatened species Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of '' critical depen ...

laws, and the release of a government discussion paper proposing a wide range of pro-development planning reforms.Sartor's law: Love thy neighbour
smh.com.au, 27 November 2007.

References

{{reflist Business organisations based in Australia Real estate companies of Australia Urban development in Australia