The top four property developer lobby groups in Australia are probably:
- Property Council of Australia
- Business Council of Australia
- The Urban Taskforce
- The Lowy Institute for International Policy
Property Council of Australia
Identifies its goals for 2010 being to:
- Improve property returns by reforming taxes and business regulation
- Achieve strong economic growth leveraged by world class infrastructure
- Unite and mobilise the property industry behind a well-resourced property advocate
- Enhance the industry’s image
The Business Council of Australia advocates the need for:
- Good business regulation
- Better taxation
- Excellence in education
- High-quality, cost-effective health care
- World-class infrastructure, including market-based emissions trading
- Global engagement
- Flexible, enterprise-based workplace relations
- Wide workforce participation
…each obviously to benefit small and corporate business interests.
The Urban Taskforce is about “growing cities and regions (that) provide the engine room for the economy…representing Australia’s most prominent property developers and equity financiers. The committee includes some of Australia’s leading property developers. The Urban Taskforce’s mission includes promoting “increased economic activity…in urban communities.”
The Lowy Institute for International Policy board comprises four Lowy family members who own, control and develop Westfield shopping centres globally and the remainder as you point out represent finance, economists, banking, and real estate interests.
The Lowy platform is not clear on its website, but seems mainly geared to influencing the Australian government on international policy – economic, political and strategic and I guess this includes immigration. A quick scan of articles is that it seems to be telling Australian prime ministers what to do and aht to focus on. May be it is Frank Lowy’s mouthpiece after he reads daily and international news affecting his business and personal interests.
Opinion polls conducted by any of these lobby groups would be clearly biased. The only credible polls are conducted by independent market researchers.
As a start, I would look at Roy Morgan Research which is certified to both AS/NZS ISO 9001 and to the new ISO 20252 International Market, Opinion and Social Research standard (NCSI Registration No. 6669). This new standard is specific to the market research industry and covers all stages of a research study, including proposals, questionnaire design, field, data analysis and final presentation of results to clients.
Unless governments want to hear what they want to hear, rather than reality they would choose lobbyist data over certified market research data.