 Liberal Action Team On the Campaign Trail |
| 3 Global Towers to win back Sydney's Business Confidence |
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Liberal Lord Mayoral candidate Councillor Shayne Mallard has thrown down the greatest policy challenge of an otherwise dull Council election campaign calling for Sydney to build three giant commercial office towers to take on Dubai, Singapore, Shanghai and even Melbourne.
Using Wednesday's (10th September) Property Council of Australia Lord Mayoral lunch debate at the Westin Hotel, City of Sydney Councillor Shayne Mallard will challenge Clover Moore MP, Green and Labor candidates to target greater jobs growth and office construction targets for Sydney and put forward a more aggressive positive voice for our global city. "In four short years Sydney has lost its international business confidence under the negativism of this Lord Mayor and incompetence of NSW State Labor," Mallard said. "As Lord Mayor I will regain Sydney’s business confidence. We will be saying ‘Sydney is open for business – Under New Management". Shayne Mallard said that it will require a bold confidence building initiative to get Sydney back on the front foot asserting economic strength and vision - an action that will draw breath and turn the heads of Sydney's competitors. "My ‘3 Global Towers’ (3GT) project will rezone three sites in the City for global commercial towers of between 80 and 100 floors each." "3GT will be recognised internationally as beacons of our economic dominance and projecting our global economic destiny in the Asia Pacific." The 3GT will be located in the CBD near Circular Quay, Barangaroo south and Chinatown in the western CBD area. Clearly such bold visions must be implemented with the cooperation of the State Government and Mallard said he would expect their full support for re-energising Sydney’s economy if he were elected. 3GT will add in total at least an additional 240,000 square metres of premium commercial floor space to the CBD. "3GT will add 50,000 new jobs and supply of dwindling and valuable office space for another decade," he said. "3GT will replace the jobs carved out of Sydney’s economy by Sydney2030 flawed plan for slower jobs growth." The much lauded Sydney2030 plans for slower jobs growth in Sydney. That is a plan for a slower economy and Sydney slipping further behind national and international competitors. "Sydney cannot plan to have slower growth in the future. That is a plan for economic stagnation and a fall in our quality of life." Mallard warned that planning for slower growth meant shutting off the wealth tap to the surrounding villages. "The creative, arts, design, IT, finance and other vital support businesses based in the vibrant City of Villages will wither on the vines if Sydney accepts Clover Moore's savage cuts in jobs growth," "The young talented work force we so jealously covet will continue to leave Sydney in larger numbers turning the sustainable City of Villages into the City of Retirement Villages by 2020," warned Mallard. 3GT will be driven by top level environmental sustainability and international excellence in architectural design and seek designs that capture and express the unique city, environment and diverse peoples. Mallard criticised the existing planning rules that do not allow innovative design responses and committed to immediately rewrite the CBD planning rules to attract and reward architectural innovation. "Uncertainties, additional red tape and a lack of action after four years over complex and duplicated planning laws have seen the City CBD, once crowned with construction cranes and excitement, now largely silent. Investors have shifted their focus and jobs interstate and overseas." Meanwhile interstate competitors like Melbourne and Brisbane put out the red carpet to investors keen to steal Sydney's hard won global city status. Overseas competitors like Shanghai, Dubai and Singapore make their case for global investments and are draining Sydney of the clever young workforce. "Sydney needs a positive Lord Mayor who is an ambassador for our City, a salesman that talks up the greatest City in Australia.' "A positive civic leader who rolls out the red carpet for international investors and spruiks the City’s market advantages against our national and international competitors," Mallard added. "In the future when people see the skyline of Sydney they will recognise it from the 3GT and not only from our loved timeless icons by the harbour. " "Sydney needs a new generation of positive leadership to restore business confidence, pursue economic growth and get the City back on its feet again." Shayne Mallard concluded. Shayne Mallard Councillor Liberal candidate for Lord Mayor of Sydney |