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The Forum > Article Comments > Australia must increase housing supply to improve affordability > Comments

Australia must increase housing supply to improve affordability : Comments

By Sebastian Tofts-Len, published 7/1/2022

The problem is, by improving housing access for some prospective buyers in the short-term, housing becomes more expensive for everyone else in the long term.

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No mention of artificial and high population growth (immigration) renders this article unworthy
Posted by watersnake, Friday, 7 January 2022 10:38:31 AM
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Reduce demand. Stop mass immigration.
Posted by ttbn, Friday, 7 January 2022 10:41:08 AM
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It is easy to point to immigration as the cause of rising house prices in Australia- and thus, ignore the real causes of the problem- unaffordability and the rising land prices in a country with one of the population lowest density levels in the world @ 3 persons/ km2; yet with the same urban rate of 85.9% in 2020 as in 1985. See:https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/australia-population/

The author correctly identifies high [and rising] State Government charges as the main impediment to redressing the problem. This inflates land prices. In a country with an abundance of land, we are one of the most urbanized in the world- in the top 55. And yet, we do nothing to invest in the country towns, which continue to close their doors, with young people drawn to where the jobs are- the cities, where they face high rents and stagnant wages.

The taxation system, with negative gearing and 50% rebate on capital gains is another hurdle for young people to overcome. Migrants are in the same situation, as many are without capital.

The haphazard and short-sighted development of our cities has lead to traffic congestion and misplacement of facilities. Large suburban blocks of land are gradually being subdivided; however, the price of this land raises expectations of capital gains for investors and speculators. We don't seem to have moved very far in our planning since the 1890's when the land bank failures caused considerable financial losses for depositors of the banks at that time.

What is needed is a Federal Government which act in the interests of the people, rather than pander to the land developers and banks; a government that will impose limits on their State counterparts and also regionalize our industries so that the pressure on our cities is lifted and we utilize our assets in a way that melds with our country's land resources.
Posted by Cyclone, Friday, 7 January 2022 11:53:32 AM
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Cyclone: "What is needed is a Federal Government which act in the interests of the people, rather than pander to the land developers and banks; a government that will impose limits on their State counterparts and also regionalize our industries so that the pressure on our cities is lifted and we utilize our assets in a way that melds with our country's land resources."

So how is the federal government going to do this legally?
Posted by thinkabit, Friday, 7 January 2022 12:09:05 PM
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Of course the major problem is immigration. You can't generate the need for 200,000 extra homes a year without generating a housing shortage.

The other problem is that migrants all flock to major cities.

I can buy a nice home in Home Hill for example for $250,000, & there is plenty of work opportunities in the district. This is the case on many areas of the country. If people are so stupid that they must live in a major city, when opportunity is begging in many other areas, I can see no reason why the government or anyone else should be required to help them.
Posted by Hasbeen, Friday, 7 January 2022 12:22:02 PM
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In reply to the query regarding the Commonwealth Government's powers to acquire land; the 1904 legislation designed initially for the acquisition of the land for seat of the Federal Parliament- see: https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C1904A00007
has been expanded to any land within the Commonwealth- see:https://www.finance.gov.au/sites/default/files/2019-12/compulsory-acquisition-of-land-brochure.pdf

The original Act of 1904 mentions the words "on just terms", which is of course, retained in the wording of current legislation.
Posted by Cyclone, Friday, 7 January 2022 1:31:14 PM
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