The Chair of the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council, Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz, has called for a range of measures to address Australia’s housing crisis.
In a speech to the National Press Club, Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said the housing crisis had been decades in the making through our persistent failure to deliver enough housing of all types. She said, “There is no quick fix or silver bullet, and that improving affordable access to homes for households no matter what their financial status or geographical location is going to take time, with persistent, consistent and patient actions year in and year out.”
Contributing factors to Australia’s unhealthy housing market include limited land supply, complex and slow planning approvals, long-term underinvestment in social housing, constrained financing for new homes, inefficient use of existing housing stock and decades of weak or negative productivity growth.
However, according to Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz, even if all these issues were addressed, there is not enough capacity in the construction industry to deliver the homes Australia needs.
Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said boosting construction capacity is a priority. “We need to be encouraging more workers into the sector through support for training and skilled migration channels and improving productivity by supporting innovative construction techniques.”
Along with boosting construction capacity, Ms Lloyd-Hurwitz said reforms to the housing system should also include:
- Adequate investment in social housing,
- Commitment to best practice zoning and planning systems across the country,
- A better system for renters, and
- Policy settings that are well-coordinated across all levels of government.
A transcript of the address and information on the role and work of the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council is available on the website.