Stockland?s development division chief executive Denis Hickey has been elected as the New South Wales President of the Property Council.
Hickey is also currently chair of the Residential Development Council, the Property Council’s residential leadership arm, and a Property Council board member.
Hickey said issues affecting the property industry – the economy, infrastructure and planning reform – will be central to the March state election.
“We have seen some very encouraging reforms in NSW in recent times, but there is a lot of work to do to restore state’s economic strength. The Property Council is here to work with policy makers to drive economic growth and create better urban environments.
“Whoever wins government on March 24 needs to make some hard decisions to deliver these outcomes,” Hickey said.
Hickey said the key issues were:
• the need for an economic stimulus in NSW,
• delivering a stronger infrastructure base for the state,
• reversing the reliance on growth crimping development levies, and
• reducing the complexity and wastage which still characterises development assessment.
Hickey praised outgoing president Mark Gray for his contribution to the industry.
“The Property Council has achieved phenomenal success under Mark’s leadership. We’ve had the failed vendor tax abolished, some welcome planning and infrastructure strategies released and a reversal of the State’s previous debt phobic approach to infrastructure funding. These were all vital steps in building a stronger economy and better urban environments in NSW.
“I look forward to taking up the baton and building on this successful platform,” he concluded.
The new NSW Division Council includes;
President
Denis Hickey Stockland
Vice President
Brett Draffen Mirvac Group
Immediate Past President
Mark Gray Leighton Properties
Virginia Briggs DLA Phillips Fox
Richard Burton AMP Capital Investors
Quentin Dennis GPT Group
John Elvy Leighton Holdings
Hamish Flett Arcadia Funds Management Limited
Steve Hennessey AHA Facilities Management
Bob Hawes Castlecrest Consultants
Phil Hunter Delfin Lend Lease
Craig Jones Walker Corporation
Kathryn Matthews Jones Lang LaSalle
Angela Melick PricewaterhouseCoopers
Robert Wilcher Herbert Geer Rundle
Todd Wynne-Parry Intercontinental Hotel Group
Australian Property Journal
