The state and federal governments repeatedly claim lack of supply as the core problem in their response to the housing affordability crisis. This apparently obvious proposition has to be re-examined.
The housing affordability crisis, Adam Bandt suggests, is not a supply problem, it is a problem of affordability, a problem of costs which continue to escalate.
The simple notion that more of the same will resolve the situation reminds me of that old bloke’s adage on insanity, ‘doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results’.
The housing market in Australia is a closed system, essentially a private enterprise performing at its peak of productivity and under increasing pressure: from tight supply and the rising cost of materials; rising labour costs; and increasing regulation.
The housing product is generally excellent, some of the best in the world while standards and market expectations are high.
Increasing supply in this market, even utilising mass production and higher densities demands further enormous resources, i.e. costs.
The market is a natural balancing act, under increasing cost pressures, why and how would the housing industry suddenly flood the market with cheap products threatening their profit and viability?
I suspect the mantra of lack of supply is simply to cover for business as usual so that the government does not have to directly tackle the housing affordability crisis.
Perhaps this is because market ideology still prevails with the belief that properly managed and incentivised the market will respond and satisfy all demand.
Unfortunately, years of incentivising the Australian housing market – not for housing but as a financial investment scheme without alternative – has seen it metastasised into this monster of unaffordability.
Directly linked to this is homelessness, generational inequity, social unrest, and the ever-widening gap of wealth and privilege shaking the foundations of a fair and just commonwealth and a country we can take pride in.
The solution has to be to step outside the market, the government must rebuild its public works capacity and integrity and start down the long road of rebuilding public housing stock.
This should be undertaken as direct investment, not from the proceeds of a side dabble in the stock market, as Albanese suggests, with his Future Fund, then trickled back into the private sector.
This needs to start now with taxpayers’ money and proceed long into the future subsidising housing for ordinary Australians. Don’t forget the bloated private housing market we have today is the result of years of billions of dollars of tax concessions in the form of negative gearing, capital gains tax, and other schemes effectively subsidising this catastrophe.
The private housing market is a horse that has bolted and it will not return for a long time or without considerable pain.
The best we can do is stop the rot, secure the private market where it is, support stopgap social services for the homeless and mobilise urgently the building of public housing.
The number one thing one could hope for is keeping Adam Bandt and the greens out of the way so normal people can sort this mess out.
Greg, an attempt at comedy I see.
Your ‘normal people’ – the LabLibNat Cartel – are the ones that have purposely delivered “this mess” – the Housing and Rent Crisis. And more of their same rubbish will see the Housing and Rent Crisis get even worse, so lets have no more of your attempted deflect and divert with your anti-Greenery scribble.
The government wants to be your landlord. Say or do something they don’t like, and you will be homeless.
Greg, it really pains me to have to say this, but have to agree with you, ouch.
I don’t. Normal people are the problem.
KD, we can put aside our obvious differences and keep up the fight against the green you know what’s. I am certainly up for that and I suggest you are too.