parking charges can climb so high because the town planners and engineers can get away with doing this to a captive audience:
what if fewer and fewer cars started to enter the CBD but tried to rely on public transport instead? that transport system would be totally overwhelmed!

Don't worry about it. In about 6 years time there will be no oil left in Australia and it will be too expensive to import , so there will be no cars on the roads.
Pick a good spot now to park and it will be yours for life soon.

I believe the answer is rapid rail and simply keeping cars out of cities.
Rapid rail, would also make some new cities replete with their own industrial parks, power generation and what have you, very possible and the way forward; as long overdue decentralization, which finally empties out far too expensive cities, and returns housing to the land of the affordable.
If you don't have to travel too far to work, sleep or play, then parking will not be so much of a problem, particularly, when it could then be replaced with a healthy walk or bike ride; and or, not too far for the rechargeable electric scooter!
Rhrosty

Ross, I think the answer is very simple. If you don't like the parking charges, don't take your car into the CBD.

Come on Rhrosty, rapid rail is a long range form of transport. It's not much use if it has to stop every 3 kilometers, as a city commuter train does.

It is also useless at cargo transport. It's loads have to be light. It will not support heavy transport to regional cities.

I agree with you completely about decentralization, but we should start by removing all government offices from any where near CBDs. Move all the public service out to the very periphery of city suburbs & you immediately cut congestion & parking requirements greatly. They will be traveling counter to the existing rush.

As for bikes, no thanks. I can't see mum taking one kid to daycare, one to primary, & one to high school on her bike, particularly bringing them home, after she has the shopping on it

I'm guessing Mr Elliott is a consultant. Hundreds of words, lots of concerns raised, a few figures dotted around here and there, some offhand references to superficially similar issues elsewhere, and a succinct summary...

"There is no easy answer here..."

Well, there's a shock.

"...but I'd suggest that reliance on proven failures like parking taxes or similar pricing policies in the Australian context is not a good option."

So, don't repeat failed policies. Good thinking.

"It might be helpful instead to get a solid grasp on all the factors driving the high cost of parking..."

I know. Let's call in a consultant to look at the problem for a couple of years, then write an (expensive, naturally) report that tells us that "there's no easy answer here".

File under: P for Parking.

Or Pointless.