National planning policy urgently needed to ensure long-term prosperity for Australians

PORT MELBOURNE, Australia - June 19, 2013 - PRLog -- Australia’s attempts at regional planning fail to focus on nation building. Those plans that have been developed prove difficult to maintain in the preeminent policy framework of the cities and regions they plan for. The best example of this is the controversial planning policy - Melbourne 2030 (M2030), focussed on containing urban sprawl on Melbourne’s fringe and house people in designated centres of activity.

The reality is that M2030 severely lacked the appropriate implementation measures for its proposed vision. It failed to recognise the importance of allowing for coordination between the different tiers of government within the implementation process of any metropolitan strategy.

David Klingberg, CEO at David Lock Associates said, “There are obvious benefits in having a clear line of communication between the various tiers of government and across borders particularly with regards to the delivery of infrastructure.  Our approach to this can impact upon the success or failure to deliver a metropolitan, regional or national plan.”

By contrast Malaysia and Indonesia are two countries that are considered successful in planning for significant population and GDP growth, with the development and implementation of regional and national policies that focus on the long term prosperity of the nation.

Malaysia has adopted the Nation Physical Plan (2010-2020). This plan seeks to manage future population growth, through the provision of a long-term strategic framework for national spatial planning. The framework includes the measures required to shape the direction and pattern of land use, biodiversity conservation and development in Peninsular Malaysia.

Indonesia forecasts continued substantial population growth. To aid in the management of sustainable future growth they have adopted the Master Plan for the Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia’s Economic Development (MP3EI), which seeks to accelerate and expand economic development in order to support its transformation to a developed country by 2025.

“We can learn from Malaysia by looking at the feasibility of having a body similar to the National Physical Planning Council, in order to allow for communication across the various tiers of government,” Klingberg comments.

To replace M2030, a new regional strategy for Melbourne, its project name is the Metropolitan Strategy.

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