Other Advocacy Issues

The SCCA is involved in advocating our members’ interests on a range of other public policy issues including real estate regulation, parking space levies, statutory land valuation processes, and proposals for disabled access to premises. We also work closely with the Property Council on advocacy issues affecting the property industry such as national and state taxes, infrastructure funding, and sustainability initiatives. Further details of these issues are available on the Property Council website.

A counter-terrorism strategy for mass gathering places (shopping centres, office buildings, and sporting/cultural arenas) was launched on 25 November 2005 at a special counter-terrorism summit for property industry chief executives. An Emergency Management checklist for property owners and managers was distributed at the summit and is available for down loading here.

Places of mass gathering and the built environment have been prime targets of terrorists in the past and protecting them poses special challenges because of their high levels of public access. While a lot of work has already been done in this area by Australian property companies, inevitably some are more prepared than others, so the Property Council and the Shopping Centre Council organised the summit to ensure that property owners and managers are fully briefed on the preparations they need to make within their own companies to protect the people who work in, and visit, their buildings.

Key speakers at the summit included the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, who briefed the meeting on the Australian Government’s counter-terrorism strategies, the Director-General of ASIO, Paul O’Sullivan, who advised on the current terrorism threat, and Steven Lowy, Managing Director, Westfield Group, who briefed participants on the lessons learnt from overseas, particularly in the wake of September 11. “I hope today’s summit will be the first step in an ongoing process to develop a culture of counter-terrorism awareness and best practice across the property industry”, said Mr. Lowy, who is a member of the Business-Government Advisory Group on National Security.

Another vital aspect of counter-terrorism preparations is strengthening the lines of communication between government and business. In this context, the summit heard from Don Randall, a former senior London police officer and Chair of the UK Griffin Scheme, who was instrumental in formulating counter-terrorism measures in London. Project Griffin is a joint partnership between the private and public sectors designed to most effectively deploy public and private security resources in the event of a terrorist attack.