The government should invest significantly in the commercial building sector, while still fulfilling its green agenda, the Australian Institute of Architects’ (AIA) top boss told Architecture & Design, on leaving Friday’s Small Business Summit.
David Parken’s vision for “green depreciation” encourages investment in existing stock, overcomes time-gap problems and allows investors to defer tax payments in exchange for bringing forward energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reductions.
The Australian Sustainable Built Environment Council (ASBEC) rescue bundle that Parken physically handed to the prime minister on Friday, also suggests a national white certification scheme and the provision of public funding for retrofitting.
“Green depreciation is the 2008 version of accelerated depreciation that was successful at restarting the sector in the early 90s,” Parken said. “But we also want direct funding.”
Currently there’s a cap on dollar-for-dollar refurbishments. The government should increase that cap, Parken said, alongside direct investment. “If the government can put $10 billion directly into the economy it should be capable of investing significantly in the commercial housing sector,” Parken said.
“The recent increase in first home buyers’ grants had $1.5 billion behind it. If that amount can go into housing, I think it can go into the commercial sector as well.” Fully realising the building sector’s potential, the ASBEC report claims, would save the economy, annually, around $38 billion by 2050 — that is, it would reduce the adjustment cost foreshadowed in the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme paper.
The Small Business Summit saw Rudd promise to speed up payments to small businesses to ease cash-flow problems as the global financial crisis floods into the real economy. The guarantee will see small businesses working with the government paid within 30 days of invoicing.
