Government responds to House of Representative cities inquiry

The Australian Government has announced in principle support for a number of important recommendations in their response to a House of Representative Inquiry into the Australian Government’s role in the development of cities.

‘AHURI welcomes the Government’s confirmation of the importance of ongoing cities research and the role AHURI already plays in delivering policy relevant evidence to support the development of Australian cities’ says Dr Michael Fotheringham, Executive Director of AHURI.

The publication outlines the Government’s official response to the 37 recommendations in the Building Up & Moving Out report, delivered by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities in 2018.

Included in the original committee report was a recommendation to establish a ‘national institute for cities research’ that would examine international best-practice to urban development to inform cities policy in Australia. In their acceptance of this recommendation the Government acknowledged a number of independent bodies, including AHURI, already undertaking cities research.

‘AHURI welcomes the Government’s confirmation of the importance of ongoing cities research and the role AHURI already plays in delivering policy relevant evidence to support the development of Australian cities’ says Dr Michael Fotheringham, Executive Director of AHURI.

‘With our national network of University research partners, AHURI is well-placed to work with the Australian Government to deliver cities research that informs their ongoing policy development’.

The Government’s response also outlines their progress in cities policy since the release of the Building Up & Moving Out report in 2018 including the development of a Population Plan and introduction of the Centre for Population in Treasury.

The full response to the report is now available on the Parliament of Australia website.