Publications

Explore our independent insights and news.

Insights

Government

Melbourne: Governing the growing metropolis
In many respects, Melbourne is a great success story but on closer examination, there are troubling signs evident in Melbourne’s growth management record.

Insights

Education, Government, Housing, Open Space, Transport

Canberra: An evolving city
Last year was a busy time for planning in the ACT. This period saw the release of a range of new strategies to guide Canberra's development. Heralding a further wave of urban renewal, together with th...

Insights

Government, Housing

Don’t tear it down: the idea behind Labor’s National Rental Affordability Scheme is worth saving
Labor’s Rudd-era National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS) has come under attack just when it might be needed. We need to learn from past mistakes, but we don't need to throw the baby out with the b...

Insights

Transport

Balanced perspective required on the Suburban Rail Loop
Economics and planning go together like toast and vegemite (or whatever your preferred spread is) – neither is much good without the other. Marion Terrill’s critique of the proposed Suburban Rail Loop...

Insights

Government

Who owns the development rights in our cities?
Land development rights are in reality a public asset and should be capable of being exploited only where accompanied by a fair value commitment to improvement of the public realm, including for examp...

Insights

Environment

Transitioning to a clean economy and reducing emissions would save the Australian economy $549 billion over the next decade.
Transitioning to a clean economy and reducing emissions would save the Australian economy $549 billion over the next decade while at the same time providing a number of social and environmental benefi...

Insights

Housing

Australian-first dataset informs housing and homelessness
For the first time, the dashboard brings together approximately 7 million data points from across 20 key national housing and homelessness datasets – including the SGS Economics and Planning award-win...

Insights

Housing

Adelaide's land tax rent claims not an open and shut case
Claims that controversial changes to SA’s land tax system will push up rents are overblown, as supply and demand dictate that landlords can’t pass on the extra cost and price themselves out of the mar...

Insights

Government, Housing

Three ways local government can bolster affordable housing
Many factors drive housing affordability beyond any direct influence of local government, but local councils do have the power to bolster affordable housing in their jurisdiction and make an even bigg...

Insights

Arts and Culture, Education, Employment, Government

In-depth review into Sydney’s innovative clusters unveils important insights for policymakers
The New South Wales Government recently announced several innovation and employment precincts for Sydney and the Central Coast. But research into how knowledge is shared between workers and businesses...

Insights

Employment

We need to plan intelligently for Sydney's future jobs
The truth about jobs of the future is that they are complex and need integrated land use.