8 November 2013
The Federal Government having terminated the National Housing Supply Council must continue to provide comparative data so that State Government performance on housing supply can be measured.
“Australia has the highest priced housing in the world according to many reports and this is having a negative impact of the affordability of housing for younger families.” Says Urban Taskforce CEO Chris Johnson “One of the advantages of our federated system of government is that the states and territories can learn from each other in terms of performance but this needs comparative data from a federal level.”
“Affordability is often linked to housing supply on the basis that low supply leads to higher prices. It is essential that housing supply is increased across Australia. In New South Wales around 20,000 people in the 25 to 35 year old bracket leave to other states due to the excessive cost of housing. While this is partly driven by a complex planning system and community attitudes against change that involves greater density we need comparative data to understand why this is happening.”
“The federal government needs to demonstrate that housing affordability is an important issue for all Australians.”
“The Urban Taskforce supports an rationalisation of bureaucratic committees and regulation but this must not lose sight of critical national objectives.”