

The 2025 Sydney Summit was hosted at the ICC on Tuesday, running with the theme “no time to waste”. Hosted by the Committee for Sydney, attendees spent the day hearing from thinkers, politicians, researchers, and more, as they discussed the central issues facing the city.
Here are some of the juiciest conversations that have emerged over the day.
Kean’s nuclear unicorns
Former NSW Liberal energy minister, Matt Kean, condemned the Coalition’s nuclear election plan, encouraging Australians to focus on renewables rather than being “distracted by unicorns”.
“The best way to ensure reliable, cheap and clean electricity is to build new generation into the system, and that’s why renewables are the only solution to meeting our energy needs. Now, into the future, anyone talking about other technologies is arguing for higher prices”, he said in a panel at the Sydney Summit.
Kean, who also chairs the Climate Change Authority, said that the current system facilitating more clean energy farms needed to become more efficient.
“The fact that it takes 492 days for a renewable project to see SSI approval means that you see a blowout in [the] time it takes to build that new capacity that we really need right now, in wind farms and solar farms of between two and four years. That’s increasing the cost of these projects by 25 times and flows through to consumers,” he said.
“We can remove a lot of that red tape and get that cheap, reliable and clean electricity into the system today. We don’t need to wait for a shooting bullet in 20 years’ time.”
“We have the policies in place right now that will turbocharge the agenda to ensure that we’re not only getting cheaper … clean energy but also getting reliable energy.”
Gen Z dream of owning houses
A major talking point of the summit has been the growing support for higher-density buildings, with Sydneysiders more supportive of the idea than ever before.
New data published by the Committee for Sydney showed that 46 per cent of Sydneysiders support greater density in the city, a number that’s grown by 7 per cent since 2023.
The report also found that Gen Z represent the largest percentage of any age cohort to say that owning their own home was “essential” to them.
In 2022, Sydney-dwellers were most concerned about health, the cost of living, and housing. This year, the cost of living and affordable housing are what they care most about.
Bob Carr talks Trump
Former NSW premier and foreign affairs minister Bob Carr spoke at today’s summit, warning Prime Minister Anthony Albanese not to cut deals with the crossbench based on policy, as he may need support to form a minority government.
“[Don’t] do what Julia Gillard rushed to do after the 2010 election; get commitments and support from independents and Green votes … just seek a guarantee of supply,” Carr said.
Carr, although “careful not to misuse the word”, said there were “fascist” touches about Trump’s leadership, with the tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China possibly sparking a global trade war and softening demand for Australian goods and services.
“He’s implementing it [tariffs] – He’s true to his word. He believes passionately in tariffs; he thinks they’re a weapon of global power,” he said.
“It’s vulgar. Economic illiteracy is enormously damaging.”
He also told SMH editor Bevan Shields that federal governments “might cop responsibility” for the housing crisis, that only state planning systems can solve.
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