Governments across Australia are flying blind on the state of our cities because the Abbott Government has stopped conducting research into their efficiency and liveability.
This was highlighted by the ranking by the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) of Australia as first out of 34 countries for well-being.
‘This report makes for interesting reading, particularly as it drills down below national figures giving a fuller account of how we live our lives,’ said Andrew Giles MP.
‘However, the fact that Australians need to rely on international bodies like OECD for information about what’s happening in Australia is unacceptable.’
Whilst the OECD report is welcome, it only looks at regions, not cities.
In Government, Labor released the State of Australian Cities 2013 report, which gave a rich picture of Australia’s 18 cities, their changing patterns and the effect that these changes have on the lives of the three out of every four Australians that live within them.
‘On coming to power, the Abbott Government shut down the Major Cities Unit and has not released another State of Australian Cities report,’ said Mr Giles.
The Government needs to follow Labor’s lead and re-establish the Major Cities Unit, release an updated State of Australian Cities report and, most importantly, take our cities seriously.