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PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS |
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Landcom believes in creating opportunities, not constraints.
We pass on the opportunities we create through our projects to benefit both Government and the community we serve. However, our ability to deliver is very much dependent on the partnerships we establish and the relationships we foster.
PRIVATE SECTOR PARTNERSHIPS
We deliver many of our projects through project delivery agreements with the development industry. These agreements offer a number of advantages.
From our point of view, they allow us to set a clear direction for a project by resolving site constraints and by establishing suitable planning and project standards upfront. The involvement of the development industry, particularly once development commences on site, increases our capacity to deliver, leverages better quality products and more sustainable outcomes. It allows Landcom to bridge the gap between commercial reality and Government policy, with the ability to achieve its objectives being guaranteed through its control of the final built form.
From the point of view of our private sector partners, our delivery agreements provide for an equitable sharing of risk. We do this by removing the obstacles to development, packaging up opportunities for the private sector in a way which defines and limits the project risk.
Rather than operating in competition, Landcom unlocks sites and creates opportunities for the building and development industry, whenever this is appropriate.
Partnering opportunities for the private sector are expected to increase in the future. We intend to maximise our opportunities, set the parameters for development and then, where relevant, allocate the delivery aspects to the private sector.
GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS
Landcom negotiates formal delivery agreements for projects with a range of Government land owning agencies, such as the Department of Community Services at Renwick and the Department of Housing at Minto. These agreements allow the land owning agency to remain an equity partner in the project and to share in the financial and social outcomes.
We also believe in fostering closer partnerships and strategic alliances with those Government and local council stakeholders with which we conduct most of our business.
Throughout the year, formal agreements were executed with Sydney Water, Integral Energy and Telstra, resulting in a number of tangible benefits both to Landcom and to the agencies concerned and promoting closer cooperation in matters of mutual interest. They delivered greater efficiencies to Landcom’s approval processes, as well as a number of sustainability initiatives.
Taking a wider view, the promotion of these alliances resolves critical infrastructure issues, improves the Government’s performance in delivering transport, energy and water and fosters greater cooperation across Government in promoting the delivery of its urban management agenda.
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STRIVING TO DO BETTER
While Landcom already has a strong track record in negotiating partnering arrangements and strategic alliances, its future effectiveness depends on extending and fostering these arrangements.
After surveying its private sector partners during the year, Landcom undertook to engage with them more formally. We held a Better Practices Workshop in November 2005. The aim of the Workshop was to present our findings and to bring our partners up to date on what we were doing to improve the way Landcom does business.
We also commissioned a detailed survey during the year into the effectiveness of our relationships with Local Government.
The results of this survey were generally positive and the findings highlighted several councils which expressed an interest in partnering with Landcom on strategic projects. While further work is still to be done in developing these arrangements, the close relationship developed during the year between Landcom and the Council of the City of Sydney – established to progress the $2.25 billion Green Square Town Centre project – will provide an excellent foundation.
Landcom is well aware that it doesn’t hold all the answers. However, the strength of our partnering arrangements is that they encourage joint answers to the common issues facing both the public and the private sector. It remains a highly effective way to create opportunities, share ideas and deliver solutions.
LANDCOM PARTNERED PROJECTS
Newbury: Mirvac
Greenway Views: Australand
Oran Park: Greenfield Development Corporation
Blue Gum: Urban Pacific
Prince Henry: Stockland, St Lukes/Multiplex, Sunland
Second Ponds Creek: Australand
Discovery Point: Australand
Macarthur Gardens: Stockland
Rouse Hill: Lend Lease/GPT