...The author should of course, be applauded for his honesty in informing Australians that the “King is wearing no cloths”. As the cynic I am though, I hold little hope anything will change in the housing market which seems to insist that poor quality Australian housing stock is good value.

...And as Gail Kelly spends one night a year sleeping in a cardboard box, to demonstrate her loving nature towards the homeless, she will join the throng of realtors, developers and caring Government officials making sure (all in their own little way), that the stock of homeless Australians, remains firm for the sake of the “industry”, and, for as long as possible, Australian homes remain ridiculously overpriced for the sake of profit!

...I admit to an omission above; in my list of pigs swilling at the housing trough, I neglected to include the “Banks” (I wonder if that could be classified as a “Freudian slip”): And another incongruity, that of Gail Kelly, a white South African born, with a penchant that allows her “bleeding heart” to run all-over the homeless while she presides (at the same time), over a merciless institution with an overactive penchant to destroy, without mercy, (while in the act of securing the treasured ?asset of the bank?), those unfortunate enough to fall behind in mortgage repayments!

with the Governments total lack of control over our borders housing is safe. Up to 30 people per house are looking to rent in Perth.

Good article but as Diver Dan says nothing will change both major parties have their hands on this. There is no votes in fixing the problem, but plenty in maintaining it.

Runner chri-stain charity in action, logic and compassion are no friends of his.

We reportedly, are under producing housing, by as much as 140,000 units per year.
We continue to build close to or in already overcrowded grid locked cities, where the dwellers produce 2.5 times more carbon than their country cousins! We need therefore, to decentralise.

[This would along with repealed stamp duties, put downward pressure on house prices.]

We could help that, by rolling out rapid rail links and then rezoning some of the resumed rural land as urban, at places which would be logical station stops.
The sale of the rezoned land, would then refund all the money required for the roll out.
Yes sure, we are probably talking about a trillion in forward funding? Numbers which cause visionless, timid, trembling, self serving politicians, to recoil in horror?
Size does matter!
We need to jettison negative gearing, and instead, allow better tax breaks on brand new housing development/urban renewal.
This would have a better chance of creating a surplus on the supply side.
If continuing GST funding really did become dependant on state pollies finally honouring their promise, to entirely jettison stamp duties, it would be honoured forthwith!
Any revenue shortfalls could be made up and then some, by any state govt rail operator, retaining ownership of their rapid rail links and the virtual rivers of gold that would increasingly flow from these, with every fuel cost/price rise!
Commuting will become increasingly dependant on electric vehicles, parking stations with recharge facilities, and rapid rail links.
If Australians were given a choice of high density housing in gridlocked, crime riddled cities; and or, traditional urban housing and back yards?
They would vote with their feet, as a 90%+ demographic, that preferred the latter; but particularly, if the new satellite cities were connected to the capital cities, with very rapid comparatively low cost rail links.
Given passengers were supplied with free WiFi, they could use the commute time productively, to study, attend to business concerns/ video conferencing etc.
The time and money saved, could be redirected, as more quality, stress free, family time etc. Rhrosty.

cornonacob

wow suddenly you are a believer.

Look,

When you are running a Ponzi democracy you have to tell lies. Otherwise 99% of the TARGET population will wake up and REVOLT.

The 1% top of the Pyramid has polluted the airsheds of cities like Sydney with Bio-Diesel fumes enough to kill a fish and chip shop proprieter. We have let Giardia and clostridium into the desal water and made people think they have the H3N2 flu. We have immigrated enough foreign hard-asses into the community, degrading & cheapening social and transport services enough to start a civil war with the violence. We have boosted our votes by immigration and made up the infrastructure shortages by calling it POLES & WIRES and making the 99% pay it while the 1% get all the benefits of bigger markets more expensive property developments and bigger vote bases.

We have done everything we can to make the rich richer and the poor poorer but still we are not happy: Our AAA rating is in ever more grave jeopardy!
We need bigger taxes that's the sum of it. Therefore we must find better ways to selectively poison and harrass citizens in Sydney and other big cities so they will not have the will or mental power to object or worse, vote us out.

We're working on that!

Yours sincerely

Barry OFarrell

Overlord
The Sydney Ponzi Scheme
Premier of Sydney
And Scourge of NSW

PS Don't boil tap water for 10 minutes before use and don't waste money on bottle water --You will just ruin OUR gameplan. We have a AAA rating that depends on sick people paying more taxes and higher prices and believing its GOOD FOR YA.

Interesting article.

I am reminded of that very meaningful statistic: 20% of Australians live below the poverty line!

And just what is that poverty line?
err... well, you see, it is not actually a finite figure. Rather it is worked out as that income below which the poorest one fifth of Australians live under.