06 August 2013
Australia can create more jobs through building more housing as part of a Federal Government focus on encouraging population growth, says the Urban Taskforce Australia.
“The mining boom is clearly slowing down in Australia and we need a jobs intensive industry to maximise employment,” says Urban Taskforce CEO, Chris Johnson.” The property industry can ramp up significant new housing supply that will be a win for new jobs and a win for housing affordability.”
“In this Federal Election the major parties must get behind the changes that are occurring in the provision of housing with the rise in preferences for apartment living. A new economic housing model is emerging with investors, renters and younger generations preferring an urban life style and with the right investment in infrastructure and a freeing up of regulatory constraints, a major surge in housing construction can occur across the nation’s cities.”
“Australia’s housing is amongst the most expensive in the world and a new paradigm is needed that provides different types of housing where consumers want to live.”
“To generate billions of dollars of investment and tens of thousands of jobs our cities need to support strong growth, support new urban approaches to living and have infrastructure expenditure focused where people want to live in inner city areas.”
“In this election leadership is needed on how to make housing more affordable and more responsive to twenty first century approaches to living. Rather than clinging to old housing paradigms, leadership is needed on new building production methods that reduce costs while providing affordable housing in locations preferred by consumers.
“The Federal Government should use Infrastructure Australia to prioritise infrastructure investment that leads to dramatic increases in housing supply and a consequent improvement in housing affordability. The Federal Government should encourage innovation in housing procurement and through COAG drive a reduction in red tape constraints from micro controlling planning systems.