Australia needs mayors who are ambitious for their cities.
Ambitious to solve the challenges of today and grab the opportunities of tomorrow.
To do this, we need to be brutal realists about the challenges our cities face.
Skills. Housing. Aged care. Social cohesion. National Security.
Today I want to share with you some of the Albanese Government’s priorities.
I will share insights in how our nation is changing.
And remind you once again what a big job lies ahead of you and how critical your work is to protect the Australia we all love.
I always say local government is uniquely challenging.
Your constituents see your competence tested every day.
Carpark by carpark. Playground by playground. Bin by bin.
This also means that local government is on the frontline of defending Australia’s democracy.
With democracy under threat across the globe, you can show how democracy does deliver the outcomes citizens expect.
Done well, local government makes our democracy stronger.
Done poorly, we see disillusionment of voters that undermines the democratic project.
This is why the Albanese Government values local government.
We reinstated the Australian Council of Local Government.
We committed $3.4 billion to local councils in 2025–26 through the Financial Assistance Grant program.
And $1.7 billion has been brought forward for payment in June 2025 to support delivery of essential local services.
Future-proofing our cities
Each of us has a role to play in future-proofing our cities.
We continue this mission from a position of strength.
Australia’s cities are some of the most liveable in the world.
Three in every four Australians are living in our 21 largest cities.
Our cities generate around 80 per cent of our national GDP.
In 2024, the Government launched the National Urban Policy.
It seeks to ensure our cities and suburbs meet the needs of current and future generations.
With a focus on equitable access to jobs, homes and services.
And the Commonwealth doesn’t just talk. We provide real funding too.
The $150 million Urban Precincts and Partnerships Program.
The $350 million Thriving Suburbs Program.
But to truly future-proof our cities we need to talk about what that future looks like.
Our population is aging.
The Treasurer has clearly stated this as one of the five major forces reshaping our economy.
I will leave you with one example of how dramatic this will be.
Currently there are 580,000 Australians over the age of 85.
Jump forward 40 years and that will be 1.9 million.
A threefold increase.
Your citizens need you to be ready to approve aged care facilities.
To continue to embrace universal design.
And ensure that your cities are ready for an older population than they have ever serviced.
Events of the last few days have reminded all in public life that global volatility is not going away.
Trade wars. Regional conflicts. Polarisation.
This reality affects the jobs and quality of life of every Australian.
That’s why I welcome the role Lord Mayors play in building people to people links.
You support new investment.
You provide the community infrastructure that allows some of the world’s biggest companies to house their headquarters here in Australia.
And you don’t just welcome investment.
You have such an important role in welcoming our most valuable asset, our people.
For millions of Australians, the first person to congratulate them on their citizenship is their Lord Mayor.
That is Australia at its best.
Welcoming and helping people become the best Australian they can possibly be.
But we can’t take that for granted.
In my electorate of Perth we have seen two alleged attempted terrorist acts in just the last two months.
The temperature is going in the wrong direction.
Local civic leaders are among the best placed to help bring the temperature down.
To defend the capacity for peaceful disagreement.
And to bring people together.
The programs that your cities run are essential for building social cohesion.
I thank you and your teams for this work.
It is essential.
Because violent attacks on Australia’s democracy is something we must avoid at all costs.
Housing
One of the big tests of our democracy is our capacity to turn the corner on housing supply and affordability.
This is a challenge right across Australia.
We all have more to do.
Here’s some of what the Commonwealth has brought to the table:
A $45 billion housing plan to build more homes.
Serious support for first homebuyers though 5 per cent deposits and Help To Buy shared equity.
$1.5 billion Under the Housing Support Program.
The National Housing Accord target of building 1.2 million new, well-located homes over five years.
We are supporting a pipeline of 55,000 new social and affordable homes by 2029 through initiatives like our Housing Australia Future Fund.
Every time a housing proposal comes across your desk, I want you to think of the individual impact.
Last year I was welcomed into the home of Thea.
Minister Clare O’Neil and I heard how our housing program had stopped her from dropping out of her TAFE course.
She could cook her own lasagna in her home.
And she could live in the Perth CBD.
One day I hope she can purchase her own home.
That’s where our 100,000 homes for first home buyers program comes in.
$10 billion to build homes for the people that most need them.
Already, the Commonwealth and South Australia have signed a bilateral agreement to build approximately 17,000 homes in South Australia.
Nearly 7,000 of these will be reserved for first home buyers under this program.
The number of quarterly residential building projects starting construction is now
17.2 per cent higher than it was before the National Housing Accord took effect.
Transport and infrastructure
You know that housing and transport go hand in hand.
The 2025–26 Budget included $17.1 billion for new and existing road and rail infrastructure projects.
The Commonwealth and NSW governments are each investing $5.19 billion to connect the new Western Sydney Airport to the Sydney Metro.
The 23 kilometre metro line will move up to 7,740 passengers an hour.
The Australian Government is investing $19 billion in other infrastructure projects in Western Sydney, including $2.3 billion through the 2025–26 Budget.
The Australian and WA governments jointly funded the $1.65 billion METRONET Ellenbrook line in Perth, which opened in late 2024. The journey from Ellenbrook to the city now takes only 30 minutes.
The Australian and ACT governments are co-funding a $577 million investment in extending Canberra’s light rail.
Already, there are more than 4 million trips on Canberra’s light rail a year — and this investment will extend the light rail to even more of Canberra.
And we are partnering with the Victorian Government to fund and build a rail link to Melbourne Airport, providing new transport options for people in Melbourne’s west.
Conclusion
Our cities are where challenges are solved, and opportunities are seized.
Those challenges are big.
Undermining of democracy. Global instability. Ageing population. Housing affordability.
But the opportunity for Australia is even bigger if we get the policy calls right.
I wish you well.