Jamie Briggs takes on another resurrected portfolio in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s cabinet reshuffle.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s appointment of Jamie Briggs as Minister for Cities and the Built Environment has been met with high praise from the local government sector.
The appointment comes as Mr Turnbull reshuffles the frontbench ministry, almost completely reformatting the configuration of the government’s ministry to reflect a significantly different ideological point of view from the short-lived Abbott years.
And now with the appointment of Mr Briggs into a new ministerial position that puts a strong focus on Australia’s cities and urban development, Urban Taskforce Australia chief executive officer Chris Johnson’s claim that Mr Turnbull could drive a new focus on cities has almost become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Mr Briggs’ promotion to the new job is significant because it signals the resurrection of yet another cabinet position next to the local government portfolio that had been axed by the Abbott government upon the 2013 election, but reinstated with Paul Fletcher appointed as minister.
But the Cities job had went under a different name under the Gough Whitlam and Malcolm Fraser years as Minister for Urban and Regional Development – which was never to be heard from again after Mr Fraser’s government ended in 1983.
Mr Briggs is no stranger to the regions however, as he has been serving as Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development under the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss.
The local government sector is sure to feel a sense of relief that the Turnbull government has signaled that councils are firmly on the radar to enjoy more ministerial cushioning than they had since September 2013, which led to a 2014-15 Budget that sent councils into a panic about how they could meet the financial shortfall brought upon by the freeze on indexation for Financial Assistance Grants (FAG).
Now councils might feel more confident that their financial future is in safer hands under a Turnbull government.
The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has called Mr Briggs’ appointment as a “positive step” in addressing the challenged faced by Australia’s cities.
ALGA President Troy Pickard said cities play a critical role in driving national economic growth and local government warmly welcomes the Commonwealth’s intention to work in this policy area and engage on the challenges our cities face.
“Minister Briggs will work with Minister [Greg] Hunt in the Environment Portfolio, securing the livability and sustainability of our cities will require coordination across a range of areas including transport, infrastructure, housing as well as both the built and natural environments,” Mr Pickard said.
He said there is “enormous potential” for strong partnership and collaboration between all three levels of government to reduce carbon emissions, deliver better transport solutions and improve local environmental outcomes as well as to facilitate greater community engagement in shaping our cities.
“ALGA is excited by the opportunity to work with the Commonwealth to make our cities more liveable, productive and sustainable,” Mr Pickard said.
