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Business View Australia - March-April 2016 125
PERTY DEVELOPMENT
The Economist, one of the most
respected news magazines, lists four
Australian cities amongst the top 10
in the world. The ranking is based on
30 factors spread across five areas:
stability, infrastructure, education,
healthcare
and
environment.
Melbourne achieves first rank and
Adelaide, Sydney and Perth are placed
fifth, seventh and ninth, respectively.
An institution that has been intimately
involved with urban development in
the country since 1962, The Urban
Development Institute of Australia
(UDIA), must be immensely satisfied
with the recognition earned by the
nation’s cities at an international
level.
UDIA has been at the forefront of
helping to win recognition for land
development as a major component
of the economy for the last 53 years.
The Institute was established by
Bruce McDonald, who was a senior
parliamentarian in New South Wales.
It was originally based in Sydney
but is currently headquartered in
Canberra so that it can devote its
energies to working on raising issues
with the Federal Government to
ensure the advancement of the urban
development industry in Australia.
There are state based chapters of
UDIA which function at a local level
to drive policy initiatives for the
promotion of the urban development
industry. UDIA, New South Wales, is
one of the major state bodies and
its chief executive officer, Stephen
Albin, explained that amongst the
most important functions of UDIA is
the role it plays to act as a catalyst
for urban development activities by
connecting key industry leaders and
organisations.
The Institute has a very broad based
membership and counts amongst
them developers, financiers, builders,
suppliers, architects, contractors,
engineers, consultants, academics
and state and local government
bodies. In fact, practically each
and every component of the urban
development industry is amply
represented within UDIA.
The Institute serves as a common
platform and provides an opportunity
for interaction amongst its members.
The networking which takes place at
events organised by UDIA has played
an important role in the country’s
urban developmental activities.
Speaking about this aspect of the
Institute’s role, Stephen Albin says,
“We have approximately 550member-
companies. About 10,000 people
attend our events in New South Wales
alone and they range from major
development companies to one-man
operations. The big companies need
the one-man operations because one
day the big companies might buy them
and the one-man companies need the
big ones because they can see what