Meriton Halts Sydney Development, Shifts to Queensland

0:00Meriton, Australia's top apartment builder, has slammed the brakes on buying new development sites in Sydney after 60 years of dominating the Skyline. They're pointing fingers at the New South Wales government for piling on costs that make projects straight up unviable. In the last five or six years, they haven't snapped up any land there, and now the company's deputy managing director, Daniel Henler, and his. Grandfather Harry Triegoboff are pivoting north to Queensland, where things move way faster. Schools in New South Wales drag on for three to four years, but the same kind of sight in Queensland gets the green light in just five to six months. Industry voices like Urban Task Force CEO Tom Forrest call this shift a huge red flag for Sydney's economy. Meanwhile, the state planning minister promises the biggest overhaul in 50 years, with major changes kicking in on the 1st of July. Meriton still has 6,000 apartments under construction on cheap land they bought ages ago. They hope recent tweaks mean they can get back to cranking out homes in Sydney soon, but

1:02Forrest warns more cuts to fees, taxes, and red tape are essential to keep developers from bailing for good. You've been listening to Sydney News today, AI-powered local news.