Industry leaders are urging those concerned by the NSW Government’s land titles sell-off to march in the streets of Sydney. This Tuesday 28 March protesters will rally against the government’s decision to privatise the public agency Land and Property Information (LPI). The plan is already in its final stages with the winning bidder expected to be announced by the month’s end.

The President of the Institution of Surveyors NSW, Michael Green, has urged institution members to join the rally to represent the surveying community.

According to Green, the government’s plans will lead to “the sacrifice of long-term stable revenue, the loss of hundreds of skilled and dedicated staff, the risk of title fraud and the prospect of price increases.”

“Chasing a short term gain at the cost of long stable revenue seems synonymous with the government,” he said. “As Australia’s housing prices continue to soar and with no signs of slowing, the sting from the NSW government’s plans to privatise the land titles registry will hit the people of NSW and homeowners hard.”

“We calculate that NSW residents will foot the bill as extra state taxes are required to replace the lost income from LPI,” he said.

The Concerned Titles Group includes senior property lawyers, surveyors and land titles expert and echoes these concerns. Pauline Wright, the President of the Law Society of NSW and part of the Concerned Titles Group, describes LPI as “a vital and core function of government.”

“The national economy, and public confidence in the protection of every individual’s property rights, depend on the absolute security in the administration of the land titling function,” she said. “This remains the fundamental concern of lawyers, real estate agents and surveyors.”

In a recent study by the Institution of Surveyors NSW it was found that the majority of homeowners were unaware of the Government’s plans. Of those who were aware, 84 believed that the sell-off is a poor decision.

The rally will kick off at 12 noon in the forecourt of the LPI Building in Queens Square in Sydney’s CBD, where a free BBQ Sausage Sizzle will take place. At about 1pm participants will proceed to the top end of Martin Place for the rally and speeches ahead of an expected 1.20pm march in front of Parliament House.

Green said ISNSW members are invited to join in at any of these stages of the rally and “dress in order to reflect that professional people are demonstrating their concerns.”

Under the NSW Government’s proposal, the NSW land titles registry will be offered to private operators under a 35-year lease worth an estimated $2 billion, the funds from which will be used to build and renovate two sports stadiums.

The various stages of the rally outlined above have the approval of the NSW police, however depending on the number of people attending the rally the police may place restrictions to ensure pedestrian and traffic safety.