Staff Reporter
A group of property and construction industry bodies have formed a coalition to give voice to what one senior executive has said is the country's "quiet achiever".
To help bolster awareness of the industry's plight, a tram designed to look like a building hit the streets in Adelaide earlier this week, the ‘Property on Track’ coalition said.
Speaking on behalf of the ‘Property on Track’ coalition, Property Council of Australia executive director Nathan Paine said the tram symbolised the importance of the property sector in keeping the state moving ‘on track’ to a brighter future.
“The property industry is in a lot of ways a quiet achiever,” Mr Paine said.
“People interact with the industry every day of their lives but rarely think of how completely their lives intertwine with the built environment.
“The property industry is the biggest contributor to the state’s economy, and it employs one in every ten South Australians… [and] is also the biggest contributor to state taxes,” he said.
The Real Estate Institute of SA (REISA) is one member of the coalition, with its CEO Greg Troughton lamenting the amount of revenue the state government takes from the sector.
"Forty per cent of state revenue is coming from bricks and mortar and this is halting growth in our great state," he said. "By being bold and finding another way, SA could really kick start our economy and lead the way nationally as a hub of investment."
Other industry bodies involved in the coalition include the Green Building Council Australia, Australian Institute of Architects, Engineers Australia and the Planning Institute Australia.