Funding and Governance of Regional Public Land Acquisition in Perth and Sydney

This article reviews the history of the governance approaches and planning and funding tools utilised for regional public land acquisition in Perth and Sydney. Focus in this analysis is placed on the hypothecated land tax model used in Perth of the Metropolitan Region Improvement Tax (MRIT). The main outcome of the comparison and contrast of the approaches taken in Perth and Sydney is to present the case for the extension of the “Perth model”, which includes the MRIT, to other Australian cities. The benefit, from the perspective of the implementation of public policy and strategic metropolitan planning, of the availability and utilisation of a hypothecated tax for public land acquisition, is a key conclusion of this article.