Excellent article.

The planning Nazis are ruining the country. It's time they got to know Centrelink.

Article vacancy:

…This article is a “top down” view of housing development: So much “Ho-Hum” and totally devoid of discussion on the subject most urgent in need of attention, unaffordability of housing and its -“consequences”- on society.

…No doubt Mr Elliott, you have made a personal “killing” on a housing market geared to suit the profits of the banks, through property developers and all segments of the “Industry” that present themselves like a pair of homosexuals, holding hands in the park; the obscene connection; as the priority!

…From where I sit, it’s difficult to disassociate the word “Industry” from “Rort”. On another OLO thread today, the same theme of industry involvement shows the “head of the monster” that “Industry” is, in the field of Education, and aptly named “The Age of Contempt and Absurdity”: “Profits as the priority”, and “rort as the outcome; and the losers…society!

…It is gratifying to have your professional focus on the evils of property development Mr Elliott, but where is the evidence that you and your “string” of professionals in the total housing “Industry”, are in any-way making a dent on the root problem, which is of course “social exclusion” by the overpriced “default” of Australian housing, with all its parts; Government and private enterprise.

…Problem with the Industry approach is, it is the problem: It “begs” for back handers, it lines the pockets of a “select” few and it excludes the obvious imperative of the basic function of housing, i.e. to house people affordably, (which shines through the “sloth” that I believe the housing industry, in ALL its parts has become, leaving Australians with a dwindling ability to house themselves at all!”

…And before the OLO sheep “bleat”, you position yourself for accolades for your apparent gallant attempt to fix the problem, by a proffering a few “off-the-cuff” suggestions on a way forward. But, when Government policy dictates that Australians will conform to a miss-shaped ideological idea of society, popular at the time, and conforming to the Government in power, overpopulation always suits the Economic model, have you noticed?

While I agree with Ross that planners are one of the lowest forms of animal life, being much more expensive to keep than dole bludgers, & some what less use, I have a few problems with his ideas.

Yes we need to keep the fools out of Venice & Copenhagen. These cities built on billiard table flat terrain, is what has probably encouraged their fool idea of people riding bicycles all over our hilly cities. And yes we could do with less "initiatives" from the fools. If they had to pay for all those initiatives, like all those disruptive bikeways, out of their planning department budget, we just might get a more constructive evaluation of the usefulness of the idea in the first place.

But Ross, I am afraid that you should still have to pay every single up front cost involved in a development from your budget, not mine.

I do not want any development smaller than 10 acres in my area. Every where we see closer settlement on the cities fringes, we see an immediate upsurge in break & enters, & other problems in about a 10Km radius. These developments are something I could do without.

However I realise people have [or should have] a right to sell their land, & others do need to build somewhere, & I have no right to stop them. Still, as there is nothing for me in more people coming into my area, except future traffic jams & lower speed limits, I am not prepared to put up one red cent towards the cost of infrastructure for your development. In fact, if you are going to bring in more people to clutter up the roads I have paid for over the last 20 years, I believe you should have to fund major road upgrades into your development area, not merely throughout the development.

Oh, & happy new year.

Yes we need to keep the fools out of Venice & Copenhagen.
Hasbeen,
Where will they go ? To Australia ?
Is Australia heading towards becoming a fools paradise ? All the signs are there.

Housing unafordability is self made. It is normal for people to expect a profit when selling property. What happened to the pioneer spirit, take your woman and find your own patch.
That is no good, they want to live in the city, where things are unafordable, and whinge about it.

Great article. Housing would be very affordable but for the ridiculous amount of regulation and restriction on developing land. The rights of landowners have been diminished greatly.