John Alexander (Bennelong, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Australia's political discourse, alongside democratic systems around the globe, sits at a critical juncture. Increasing civic disengagement and dissatisfaction with major political parties is raising concerns as to how we, as a government and as a society, progress democracy. Australia is fortunate in the robustness of our modern system of governance. However, we must recognise our flaws where they exist and embrace criticism to evolve into our best selves. At its roots, democracy recognises that the key to a nation's success is empowering the public to express their opinion and their ideas. This can come through the ballot box or through the media, but it should be in the form that is conducive to healthy debate and open to constructive criticism. The separation of powers, the notion of a free press and the subject of this speech today—parliamentary inquiries—all exemplify the objective of our system of government to encourage informed decision-making and evidence based policy development.

I rise today to express my concerns about the direction of our contemporary political discussion and policy development. Justice Holmes of the US supreme court gave a famous dissent in the case of Abrams against the United States of America in 1919:

… that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market …

Policy based discussions, as well as the method of policy development that we rely on, have become dangerously destructive rather than constructive. We are descending further into an abyss of politics that is devoid of any genuine competition of ideas. Locally and internationally, naysaying has superseded debate, and the public is showing their disdain at the ballot box. Last year, in a similar debate, I addressed the relationship between mass media and politics. I identified the conflict between journalistic integrity and the commercial motivation of chasing higher ratings through methods such as clickbait to produce greater profits.

It was a deep question of the value of our political institutions and how modern telecommunications have created the power of the sound byte over considered policy debate. Similarly, as a parliament and government, we must question the ability of our own institutions to develop and execute the best policy platform for Australia's future. This parliament should be a marketplace of ideas that elevates reason and critical analysis as the ultimate gauge for good policy rather than for political or electoral gain. We must inspire re-engagement and evidence based decision-making and encourage the empowerment of stakeholders as well as the voices of public interest. In my political career I have served on a number of parliamentary inquiries, yet none have I been more proud of than the two that have just been completed—the home ownership inquiry and the transport connectivity inquiry.

As one of the many avenues of policy development for a government, a parliamentary inquiry is open to both the public and experts to offer evidence and recommendations in the formulation of policy innovation. This is accepted or amended by the relevant department before being put to the cabinet, upon which, at their discretion, it is adopted as the official policy trajectory of a government. Parliamentary inquiries are powerful bodies in the voice that they give to any and all Australians, as well as the embrace of constructive and bipartisan discussion and input. In March 2015, as chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, I requested an inquiry into home ownership. With land being Australia's largest asset class, homeownership underpins our wealth creation and sustainability. This inquiry was commissioned to look into the demand and supply drivers in the housing market, the impact of tax policy, and opportunities to reform. Influenced by domestic and global economic trends, investors have an unfair advantage when buying property, and first home buyers are being systematically locked out of the market. Yet, due to many circumstances, the inquiry ceased before it could deliver its final report.

The inquiry recognised that action should be commenced to manage a nationally coordinated strategic transition from a market dominated by speculative investors to one where every Australian has the opportunity to access affordable housing. This course of action would help restore sound economic fundamentals to our property market and provide optimal resiliency to economic cycles through an increase in homeownership and a reduction in speculation. This unprecedented approach to homeownership through a comprehensive inquiry was founded upon the great benefits of rational and pragmatic evaluation, which should be omnipresent in our political discourse.

Despite an initial setback, I am glad to say that, as of last week, this inquiry has been restarted, and I look forward to the much-needed policy vision for Australia's homeowners that is now being developed. I am pleased to see this critical work in the hands of my successor as the Chair of the Economics Committee, my friend the member for Banks. I wish him all the best for a prompt completion of this work, and I look forward to seeing the final product.

In October 2015 I was appointed chair of the newly formed House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities. The inaugural inquiry of this committee was looking into the role of transport connectivity in stimulating development and economic activity, with a specific focus on opportunities to use value capture to fund high-speed rail. The opportunity is here in the form of a substantial, far-reaching suite of policies to redress the imbalance of our nation's settlement and connect our regions and major cities through high-speed and uniquely funded transport infrastructure.

Value capture is essentially the taxing or levying of unearned benefits. It has the capacity to provide a just hypothecation of funds raised, therefore relieving demand on consolidated revenues, creating headspace for improved services, tax relief or even paying down the debt. It is an extraordinary oversight that governments in Australia have not sought to develop a far-reaching, all-inclusive value-capture model. This oversight has now, with government infrastructure commitments, generated a new opportunistic genre of homeowners seeking others to parcel up their holdings, gain planning approvals and then sell at multiples of their current value to developers. Preconditions such as these that are present in Australia and other trends in the global investment community now conspire to create a perfect storm of opportunity to fund major infrastructure projects, including high-speed rail, through value capture. This would require minimal financial contribution from governments as private consortia utilise our planning systems to create a funding pool based on long-term property value growth.

Over an extensive period of policy consolidation, the inquiry wants a strategic plan to create a more competitive economy, jobs, growth and an affordable housing supply, funded by a value-capture model specifically designed to harness the economic potential of our regional areas through increased connectivity to major urban centres. I am proud to announce that, as of this evening, that inquiry's report has been signed off by the committee, and it will be tabled in parliament, hopefully in the coming weeks.

There could be no greater aspiration for federal government than the creation of an affordable, abundant housing supply and a plan for jobs, growth and homeownership through a sustainable infrastructure funding model. We have an opportunity and the capacity to plan for the next century's real growth needs through value-capture-based funding while stabilising housing prices through equitable tax reform and improved negative-gearing controls. Without parliamentary inquiries or any reasonable appraisal of policy, work cannot commence or continue on a more cohesive and meaningful vision for Australia.

Political debate that seeks to undermine an idea or contribution for the sake of a short-term tactical gain is destructive. It belittles this parliament and risks driving the public away from the major parties, just as congressional stagnation led to the rise of nonmainstream politicians in the US. We should all seek to incite elevated policy development and debate, and debate should seek to embrace innovation as well as constructive criticism. Our policies should be the currency of a government truly concerned with advancing Australia through our plan for jobs, growth and homeownership.