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Over the past year we have enhanced
access to online investor information and
encourage investors to receive electronic
communications and ask questions via
our website. In May 2009, we undertook
qualitative research with some of our retail
shareholders to understand attitudes and
preferences for communication channels.
In response to this research, in November
2009, we conducted quantitative
research to validate our findings and
highlight the extent to which our findings
were representative of our overall retail
shareholder base.
Federal energy efficiency programs
Planning
Renewable/
Decentralised
Energy
Innovation
Skills
Federal Government
Energy Efficiency
Programs for the
Built Environment
Appliances
Our industry and government
Government relations
Second only to market conditions,
government regulations have the most
substantial impact on the profitability
of our businesses. By necessity we
actively engage with governments, public
servants, regulators and our industry
bodies with respect to policy decisions
in general and those that affect our
many properties. This engagement
is governed by a Board-endorsed
government relations policy that applies
Building
Codes
Government
Procurement
Reporting
Rating Tools
Incentives
and Market
Transformation
to all our people and covers donations,
consultants, access to our properties,
gifts and personal political participation.
The policy is updated annually and
communicated to our people through
our Executive Committee.
Stakeholders take great interest in our
stance on political donations. In July 2008,
as part of our annual review, our Board
moved from a bi-partisan donations
policy to implement a zero political
donations policy.
We do not make direct or indirect
transfers of money to political
parties or politicians at any level
of government.
In adopting this policy we seek to
emphasise our longstanding ethical
principle that our projects be judged
solely on their merits.
We actively monitor legislative and
regulatory change directly through our
businesses and the Corporate Affairs
team, as well as via key industry bodies.
The Property Council of Australia (PCA),
Green Building Council of Australia
(GBCA) and Shopping Centre Council
of Australia are our primary representative
bodies at both federal and state levels.
Emerging regulation
Perhaps the most significant policy
deliberation that will inform our business
decisions in the coming years is the long
overdue national debate about sustainable
population levels and proper land use
planning. We believe that population
growth and both brownfield and greenfield
development are sustainable in the long
term provided governments engage in
radical infrastructure and planning reform.
We have engaged in this discussion with
every level of government and many other
stakeholders in Australia over the past year.
Reform should include strategic
planning for our urban areas in line
with the Development Assessment
Forum principles, and an increase in
infrastructure funded by broad-based
taxes and bond-style investment options.
We support the close involvement of the
current and future Federal Governments
in these processes.
This year there were many state
regulations and policy announcements
that had substantial influences on our
business. These include regulations
relating to the introduction of planning
panels, land tax valuation changes, koala
preservation, industrial land zoning, bans
on covenants, developer levies, urban
boundary extensions and greater strictures
relating to moth populations. Both in
response to governments’ actions and
proactively, we have made many proposals
and submissions to governments on
matters such as planning, taxation and
environmental regulation.
Also, in early 2010 the Federal
Government announced that it would
defer the development and introduction
of an emissions trading scheme,
referred to as the Carbon Pollution
Reduction Scheme (CPRS). Despite this
announcement, the government continues
to regulate for increasingly robust energy
and greenhouse gas reporting.
Stockland Corporate Responsibility & Sustainability Report June 2010
55