A new report outlines a comprehensive strategy for Australia to reduce the carbon footprint of our homes while making them more comfortable and affordable.
- Adjunct Professor, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT University
The government-backed body set up to help finance social housing providers is providing longer-term, cheaper loans. What’s still missing in Australia is direct public investment in new housing.
Australia needs to build 730,000 more social housing units in 20 years.
If we recognised social housing as infrastructure as essential as transport links, schools and hospitals, not properly investing in it could become unthinkable.
Labor has made a substantial commitment to tackling inequality in Australia, but has taken a second-best approach to overcoming the huge shortfall of social housing.
A tenfold increase in building is needed to overcome the current social housing shortfall and cover projected growth in need. But it can be done, and direct public investment is the cheapest way.
The Australian government has at last taken the lead in affordable housing policy with a package of measures that should attract institutional investors hungry for low-risk returns.
The bond aggregator by itself cannot create a housing development pipeline. It needs co-investment from government to make it feasible.
Scott Morrison has been exploring a UK model for channelling investment via a specialist financial intermediary into new affordable housing provided by landlords with a social purpose. It makes sense.
First home buyers are slipping in the ranks of Australians purchasing a home, and once again negative gearing and supply issues are back in the spotlight. Even Aussie Home Loans founder John Symond has…
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