Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / Ruth Palmer from the Property Council says the abolishment of the Property Activation Levy is a historic win for the property industry

Transcript

Ruth Palmer from the Property Council says the abolishment of the Property Activation Levy is a historic win for the property industry · 360 with Katie Woolf

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  Speaker 1: We also the budget was handed down yesterday and significantly
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  Speaker 1: the Property Council of Australia's Northern Territory branch say that
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  Speaker 1: the property activation levy has been abolished. Now joining me
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  Speaker 1: on the line is the Property Council of the Northern
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  Speaker 1: Territory's Chief Executive, Ruth Palmer. Good morning to you, Ruth,
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  Speaker 1: Good morning Katie. Now, Ruth, obviously this property activation levy,
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  Speaker 1: it's been something that's been in place for a few
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  Speaker 1: years now. For those out there listening who don't know
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  Speaker 1: exactly what it was, just briefly tell us.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks Katie. Firstly, great to hear that it is
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  Speaker 2: being abolished. This tax was brought in a few years
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  Speaker 2: ago to basically tax property owners within the CBD if
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  Speaker 2: they didn't have activated buildings or if they had vacant
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  Speaker 2: chop brunts that were more than fifty percent vacant. So
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  Speaker 2: basically it was just getting money out of the back
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  Speaker 2: pocket of Territorian that were doing it tough at the
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  Speaker 2: time and slapping them with attack. Seeing this ineffective populist
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  Speaker 2: policy abolished is a welcome news for our industry growth.
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  Speaker 1: Will the abolishment though, mean that some of these properties
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  Speaker 1: that are sort of abandoned or that aren't being rented
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  Speaker 1: at the moment that they're just going to be left
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  Speaker 1: to look terrible.
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  Speaker 2: So what this was, Katie, it was a band aid
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  Speaker 2: solution to the real problem that was happening in the CBD,
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  Speaker 2: but not even just the CBD around it as well,
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  Speaker 2: which was you know, we're currently in poor economic conditions.
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  Speaker 2: Our vacancy rates are the highest in the nation. We're
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  Speaker 2: not seeing the population growing, so we're not seeing activation
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  Speaker 2: of those buildings. So what we now have the opportunity
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  Speaker 2: to do is be able to sit down with government,
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  Speaker 2: sit down with property owners and stakeholders and counsel and
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  Speaker 2: look at the real solutions as to how we can
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  Speaker 2: really look to activate these spaces but encourage businesses to
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  Speaker 2: want to set up their stores or shops here in
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  Speaker 2: the Darwin CBD. So you know, this is now the
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  Speaker 2: conversation that we need to have and the opportunity we've
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  Speaker 2: got now that the government has abolished this ineffective Levy Bruth,
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  Speaker 2: what do you.
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  Speaker 1: Reckon does need to happen? I mean, I know that
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  Speaker 1: that population growth has a huge part to play here,
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  Speaker 1: but we certainly do see quite a few vacant locations
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  Speaker 1: around the CBD. It doesn't look great, but what are
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  Speaker 1: some of the answers potentially, So it's coming together.
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  Speaker 2: And being able to work out what industries want to
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  Speaker 2: come into the city, but also around our commercial properties
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  Speaker 2: as well. So this levee also affected commercial spaces that
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  Speaker 2: weren't filled by office workers or other businesses coming into
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  Speaker 2: the territory. So then again there's a conversation of how
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  Speaker 2: do we encourage investment to want to be into the CBD,
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  Speaker 2: but also getting business back into the CBD. We know
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  Speaker 2: that the government did decentralize a lot of their buildings
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  Speaker 2: out of the city center, which then left quite big
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  Speaker 2: holes within the CBD. So you know, they're very hard
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  Speaker 2: to feel when you lose around three hundred to four
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  Speaker 2: hundred people footprint that needs to be replaced. But you know,
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  Speaker 2: it's about the population, it's about the amenity in the CBD,
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  Speaker 2: but it's also around back crime and safety. That's a
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  Speaker 2: really big factor as to why people are also packing
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  Speaker 2: up their shops in the city.
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  Speaker 1: Ruth, I know that you are in Alice Springs at
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  Speaker 1: the moment as I understand it, meeting with some of
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  Speaker 1: the property owners down there.
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  Speaker 2: What are you hearing oh look, Katie, it's and you know,
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  Speaker 2: you sort of think Darwen and Parmesan are bad. But
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  Speaker 2: the guys down here they're at their wits end. So
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  Speaker 2: I've been down here yesterday with back to back meetings
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  Speaker 2: with businesses, with some of the restauranteurs, with government, and
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  Speaker 2: we have a round table with all of the Alice
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  Speaker 2: Springs counselors today and they are absolutely at their wits ends.
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  Speaker 2: There is worsening unexceptible behavior. There's worsening crime, but this
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  Speaker 2: is violent crime as well. We're hearing stories of workers
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  Speaker 2: being pinned down while their businesses are being ransacked and
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  Speaker 2: cars stolen. We're hearing of hundreds of thousands of dollar
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  Speaker 2: is being spent on security and window replacements on a
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  Speaker 2: daily basis, and that the glaziers as saying no to
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  Speaker 2: jobs because they're up all night trying to fix other
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  Speaker 2: broken windows. These are just rocks being thrown through windows
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  Speaker 2: for no real reason, basically just because they're either bored
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  Speaker 2: or they're intoxicate. But that there's kids and adults throwing
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  Speaker 2: rocks just through through windows of these premises. But staffing
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  Speaker 2: has also been a massive talking point. So we're talking
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  Speaker 2: to businesses saying that they just can't get stuff and
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  Speaker 2: they cannot retain stuff, so that they are leaving purely
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  Speaker 2: because of safety reasons, especially if you're being pinned down
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  Speaker 2: by people and being having your office ransacks. That's just
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  Speaker 2: absolutely it's not blarn behavior. And you know it is
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  Speaker 2: shocking to hear, and you know it's it's now becoming
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  Speaker 2: a cost of living issue because insurances in Alice Springs
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  Speaker 2: is rising, and you know it's very hard to ensure
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  Speaker 2: your places. It's when they're getting broken into every day.
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  Speaker 2: So we have a huge day again today talking back
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  Speaker 2: and forth with government, but also with that roundtable with
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  Speaker 2: counsel with all the counselors and the mayor, so you know,
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  Speaker 2: hopefully we can sort of come up with some solutions
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  Speaker 2: that are going to really help our springs and sort
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  Speaker 2: of get to how we can sort of all work
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  Speaker 2: together and come up with some answers because at the moment,
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  Speaker 2: we're losing people and people are absolutely fed up with it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, I feel for people in Alice Springs, and you know,
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  Speaker 1: right across the board, I think we all understand that
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  Speaker 1: these issues that we're seeing with real senseless crime is
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  Speaker 1: absolutely dominating for so many territories, particularly if you're a
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  Speaker 1: property owner or a business owner small business owner and
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  Speaker 1: you're grappling with it on the daily, Ruth, we really
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  Speaker 1: appreciate your chatting with us today. Thanks so much.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, thanks a lot. Katie really appreciate it. Thank you.