Property Council welcomes federal housing and homelessness issues paper
"The stark reality is that Australia, our land-rich and wealthy country, has underinvested in social and affordable housing for decades"
The Property Council of Australia has welcomed the plan to create a national approach to homelessness and housing affordability, as foreshadowed in the National Housing and Homelessness Plan Issues Paper.
In its 2022 review of the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement (NHHA), the Productivity Commission highlighted the necessity of enhancing the housing supply. This included housing targets and planning reforms to encourage increased density and a broader range of housing options.
Property Council Chief Executive Mike Zorbas said: “The federal government is leaning into the challenge. They understand that Australia’s housing future must be defined by a targeted boost in the supply of new homes and better planning systems for our cities.
“We welcome Housing Minister Julie Collins’ recognition that NHHA goals require government and stakeholder collaboration given the property industry’s leadership role in creating our cities.
“The stark reality is that Australia, our land-rich and wealthy country, has underinvested in social and affordable housing for decades.
“We have failed to plan for clever, transport-oriented density across our cities and, given our twentieth-century national tax system, has put far too many new taxes directly on investment in and delivery of new homes at the state and local level.
“We also need more encouragement of clever communities that bring together private and government services near public transport, such as retirement living, purpose-built student accommodation and build-to-rent housing.
“The first step on this long journey remains the long overdue passage of the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) through the Senate. The HAFF is the launching pad Australia needs to start closing our national housing deficit,” he said.
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