The ‘Parliamentary Friendship Group for Better Cities’ (PFGBC), a forum for discussion on liveable capital city design, was launched at Parliament House on Wednesday 27 August 2014.
In the presence of Members of Parliament and industry leaders, the forum launch was co-convened by Jane Prentice MP, Member for Ryan, Andrew Giles MP, Member for Scullin and Adam Bandt MP, Member for Melbourne.
The forum is a platform for ideas and discussion on making Australian capital and major cities more liveable, more resilient and more productive. There are currently fifty other Parliamentary Friendship Groups as part of the 44th Parliament Register.
The Australian Institute of Landscape Architecture was present for the launch and said they were proud to be a supporting group for the initiative.
“It is a tremendous privilege and achievement for the profession,” said Suzanne Moulis, AILA Vice-President, who represented AILA at the launch event.
“Our cities and their suburbs need help influencing liveability outcomes. They need designers that consider how we use all open spaces, and that work to benefit our communities by improving social and environmental outcomes.”
Industry supporting groups who joined AILA in their participation of PFGBC included Australasian Railway Association, Bus Industry Confederation of Australia, Cycling Promotion Fund, International Association of Public Transport Australia and New Zealand, National Heart Foundation of Australia and Real Estate Institute of Australia.
Parliamentary Friendship Groups were created to deal with a growing number of groups seeking to be formally recognised by the Parliament, the Presiding Officers have set out the criteria defining a formally recognised Parliamentary Friendship Group.
