The Australian Government is developing a Draft National Urban Policy (NUP) for Australia and is seeking feedback on the role that all levels of government, industry and the community can play in improving Australian cities and suburbs.

Here are my views.

The draft NUP leaves much to be desired. It reads like an umbrella policy, canvassing a wide variety of themes, including housing, transport, safety, clean energy and climate change.  But it lacks real focus when it comes to the main issues we face in Australia.

What about land supply for housing (i.e. reducing costs and increasing supply), or speeding up development approvals, environmental approvals, competition policies in relation to supermarkets or land banking?

What about the role of artificial intelligence and autonomous vehicles? What are the diverse mobility options available in the future such as drone / airports and ports? What practical tools are there supporting governance concerning future urban developments in cities and regions?

Drawing comparisons between Australia and countries such as Singapore, Scotland, Germany and the Netherlands doesn’t make any sense in framing a NUP for Australia.

In choosing not to define what is urban or classify urban areas in any way is a trap. This is because not all policies have relevance to cities of 6 million residents. What about describing how cities and towns relate in a network sense and describing comparative advantage? How does this translate into a spatial policy? What about the state of disadvantage in many Aboriginal settlements? Have we learned nothing about land rights? Many settlements are so disadvantaged that they would not meet one United Nations Sustainable Development Goal citied in the draft NUP.

Understanding our socio-demographic makeup and the structure of the economy is critical in framing national urban policies – particularly considering ageing and our status as a small open economy relying heavily on immigration.  The draft NUP doesn’t clearly establish our existing situation or the outlook to 2050 and beyond. Instead what is presented is a simplistic infographic, rather than details concerning the distribution of an ageing population. There is no mention of retirement, lifestyle villages or aged care for example.

Industrial land is not mentioned, despite being a key driver for our economy.  With dwindling zoned land stocks and prices that have doubled within the past 5 years, industrial land supply will be critical in an urban policy context. What about the importance of intermodal facilities in all cities and the importance of inland rail? What about the future of working from home from a commercial office occupancy and investment perspective?

Lastly technology is mentioned in a couple of places particularly digital technology.  But what are we saying it means to cities? What role will automated vehicles and drones play and when? Are real estate platforms driving prices? How can artificial intelligence help with development approvals? What about telehealth and home-based- care models in relation to primary healthcare / hospitals? What role will nanotechnology, biotechnology and supercomputers play in transforming many facets of urban life? National defence systems will also change the urban fabric of Australia, considering the proposed new AUKUS framework. This will have implications for likely military bases and the locations for ports and nuclear networks.

In its current form, the draft NUP presents like any other umbrella policy – it lacks a clear, future-focused framework and practical tools that can support meaningful urban outcomes reflecting Australia’s spatial, urban, socio-demographic and economic contexts.

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