Ed Blakely
It doesn’t matter how beautiful the building is; I’m not in love with it if the return is under seven per cent. That’s what we’re dealing with: returns.
That combination of rich data and predictive analytics is what I think the private sector needs to provide the public sector so they can understand everything. Not just the energy and water but the other things like affordability and mobility and the mix of all those things that create great cities. And I think we can do that in the 21st century – the fact that the planning profession hasn’t got to the 21st century yet has been a real factor in us not progressing in Australia. Ed Blakely: These firms have huge sunken investment with a net expected return. Super funds, for example, expect a certain return, and if that return doesn’t materialise… It’s got nothing to do with electricity or the provider, this is all cash flow. You buy cash flows, not buildings. It doesn’t matter how beautiful the building is; I’m not in love with it if the return is under seven per cent. That’s what we’re dealing with: returns. And how can we get that if we’re feeding electricity back into the grid?
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The Fifth Estate: It’s about manipulating demand. Ed Blakely: No, it’s not demand. When you localise demand and supply you cut out the middleman. Terry Leckie: Well, yes and no, because you can increase returns in a multitude of different ways. For owners it’s about stickability with tenants so if you can reduce the costs for the tenant to be there then you’ll get longevity… Ed Blakely: But what is long term? The capital markets have a different view of long term. The Fifth Estate: But they’re changing aren’t they? We