The founder and CEO of Goodman Group, Greg Goodman is saying that Australia needs to make its planning system better and faster. He thinks that it is taking long to get approval for projects and that there are too many rules to follow. This is a problem because it is stopping Australia from growing its economy building enough houses and making its transport systems better. Greg Goodman said this when people are worried about how much it costs to build things and how the global economy is doing. He believes that if Australia does not make its planning system more modern it will fall behind countries that are similar to it. Goodman Group is concerned, about this. Wants to see some changes made to the planning system in Australia.
The person in charge of Goodman Group, which’s one of the biggest owners and developers of industrial and logistics real estate has a very good understanding of how delays in planning approvals impact decisions about investing. Goodman Group is involved in projects like warehouses and logistics hubs that use a lot of data. They also work on industrial areas. These projects often take a time to get approved sometimes it takes years. This is true when businesses and communities really want these projects to happen. Goodman sees this problem firsthand because of his work, with Goodman Group.
Goodman said that just because we do things faster it does not mean we have to lower our standards. What we need is for the rules to be clearer and for the approval process to be digital. We also need the local and state and federal authorities to work better.
Australia needs to know what is going on and we need to be able to do things he said. If Australia can do this then investors will be happy to put in a lot of money because they like to know when things will happen.
If we do not make some changes then people, with money might decide to invest in countries that are easier to work with.
The problem is very serious because Australias population is getting bigger and e-commerce is changing the way things are delivered. Goodman said that we really need logistics facilities, not just for stores but also, for food security healthcare supply and making new things. If we wait long to approve these projects Goodman said, it will cost people more money and Australian businesses will not be able to compete as well.
Planning reform is really connected to how affordable housesre. Goodman said that the way we use land is not very good and that there are many rules about what we can build where. This means we do not have land for houses or for businesses so the prices go up. The Goodman Group mostly deals with warehouses and offices. Goodman said that building more industrial spaces is good for housing too. This is because it creates jobs, near where people live which means traffic and people can get things done faster.
Sustainability is really important to Goodman. He said that a lot of projects are made with things, like renewable energy, materials that do not hurt the earth and smart buildings. If we can get things approved faster Goodman said, it will actually help Australia get buildings and solar powered factories sooner. This is because we can build energy efficient buildings and solar powered industrial estates on a big scale. Sustainability is a part of what Goodman is talking about.
Goodmans comments are similar to what other Australian business leadersre saying. They want the government to make some changes that will help the countrys economy do better in 2026. The prices of things are not going up fast as they were but the economy is still not doing great. The people in charge of companies think that the government should make some changes that will help the economy for a long time rather than just doing something to help right now. They think that changing the way we plan things is one thing the government can do to make a difference. Planning reform is something that the government can do quickly to help the economy. Goodmans comments and the comments of Australian business leaders are all, about making the economy better.
Goodman is feeling hopeful about Australias future. He thinks that a lot of companies want to invest in Australia because it has good rules and a good spot in Asia. This is good, for Australia.. Goodman also said that we need to do something if we want to see Australia grow and have more jobs. We need to make things happen. Goodman said that if we want to have a life and good jobs we have to build more things and to do that we need a system that can work quickly and make good decisions. Australia needs to build things. We need a system that works faster and smarter so we can have growth, jobs and be strong.
As governments at all levels debate planning and infrastructure priorities for the year ahead, Goodman’s message is clear: without meaningful reform, Australia risks missing a critical window to unlock investment and future-proof its economy.
