“Virtually every complaint about increased densities or more houses has people complaining about increased traffic, congestion, more people in local parks. That can be dealt with.”
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Tulip said the Urban Congestion Fund, which was created by the former federal government and was criticized for directing cash to marginal constituencies, could change its mandate.
Councils could be paid up to $25,000 per full house in their area from the congestion fund to improve local infrastructure or services.
Grattan Institute chief economist Brendan Coates agreed supply was the overwhelming problem facing younger people.
He said much of Australia’s unmet housing demand in recent years had been “hidden” as people lived in larger homes than they wanted.
Between 1966 and 1996, the number of people per household fell from 3.5 to 2.6. But the decline had since stalled, with younger Australians starting households later. This was more pronounced in the country’s most expensive cities.
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“The simple fact is that we have not built enough homes to meet the needs of Australia’s growing population. Among developed countries, Australia has had the second largest decline in housing stock relative to adult population in 20 years before COVID,” he said.
“Australia’s land use planning rules are very prescriptive and complex. The policy of planning the territory, what is built and where, favors those who oppose the change. But change is desperately needed.
“Australia can and should follow the example of other cities around the world by building more houses to stop this crisis. If we don’t build enough houses to keep up, we will be poorer for it.”
Coates said inequality would increase, with communities segregated between the haves and the have-nots, if more homes were not built.
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