The pandemic has "challenged the decades-long assumption that CBDs are the beating heart of Australia's economy" and the "2022 general election provides the opportunity to catch up with the rapid population growth in Australia's outer suburbs", says Councillor Matthew Deeth, Chair of the National Growth Areas Alliance (NGAA).
Cr Deeth is calling upon all political parties to recognise the increased voting power of the people who live in Australia's suburbs and towns around our capital cities, which have grown twice as fast as the rest of the nation.
The NGAA, a national alliance of outer urban growth area councils, estimates that more than a quarter of a million people have moved into outer urban growth areas in the past three years, around a five per cent increase since the last federal election. Growth areas are now home to one in five Australians, and the political preferences of the many thousands of new voters in growth area electorates is untested.
With record numbers of growth area residential building approvals in the past two years, continued demand for affordable housing, the impact of government programs such as HomeBuilder and ongoing state government releases of land for housing development, another outer suburbs population boom is imminent.
"Politicians need to recognise the population growth in the outer suburbs is not a blip but indicative of the future direction of living for millions of Australians. It's essential these communities are equipped to flourish and thrive," added Cr Deeth.
Leading economist Saul Eslake observed that those living in the growth suburbs are being uniquely or disproportionately impacted by wider cost-of-living items.
"Take the costs of running a car as an example. It's fair to say everyone in Australia is impacted by the increasing price of petrol, which has been on the rise for many years but has been especially exacerbated by recent events in Ukraine.
"But for those residing in the outer suburbs, it's even more heightened. A lack of local employment opportunities means its residents are forced to commute into the CBDs. Combine this with the trend towards toll-heavy roads, which is prolific in Sydney and Melbourne, and you can see how just this one cost – maintaining a vehicle – creeps up for those living in the growth areas in a way it does not for inner city residents.
"Interest rates is another area where the outer suburbs feel the brunt more forcefully, as they have a higher-than-average number of people paying off mortgages."
Councillor Matthew Deeth, Chair of the NGAA, shares that its key election ask is for a Minister of Growth Areas to advocate for the needs of the 5.2 million people living in these fast-changing communities.
"For too long, investment in vital infrastructure has not kept up with the number of people moving to the fast-growing outer suburbs, leading to postcode discrimination, nightmare commutes, reduced productivity and declining liveability. This is categorically wrong. We deserve access to quality infrastructure, schooling, healthcare and education as much as people in any other part of Australia.
"With record numbers of Australians choosing to build their lives in the outer suburbs and no signs of slowing down, the political weight and standing of growth areas is undeniable.
"Growth areas cannot be ignored any longer - and it's in politicians' interests to ensure they aren't. Almost one third of Australia's federal electorates are in growth areas and of those, at least 11 are held by a slim margin.
"The party that claims victory in the federal election will be the one that successfully prioritises the one in five Australians living in the outer suburbs and brings in a Minister for Growth Areas. These communities are looking to the party that can unlock the potential of the outer suburbs, with reinvigorated national urban policy and transformation infrastructure investment.
"There's no time to lose. Politicians need to act now to show how they intend to transform these communities from gridlocked to unlocked."
Julian Szafraniec, Partner at SGS Economics and Planning, commented, "Growth areas were particularly vulnerable to the social, economic and health impacts of the COVID pandemic due to long-running structural changes in the economy combined with gaps in infrastructure and services provision. The pandemic also accelerated many of these long-running trends and fundamentally changed where, how and when we work, shop and relax. The good news is that this shift presents new opportunities for growth areas willing to understand and adapt to this new economic landscape."
