The purpose of this letter is to provide research and analysis conducted by the Institute of Public Affairs (the IPA) to the Senate Economics Legislation Committee (the committee) as it conducts its inquiry into the National Housing and Homelessness Plan Bill 2024 (the bill).
The bill would require the relevant minister to create and oversee a ‘National Housing and Homelessness Plan’ aimed at facilitating a ‘ human-rights based approach to housing’.
Homeownership is a core component of the Australian way of life. It is a societal good connected with starting a family, joining a community, and having a stake in the nation. Ensuring the right policies are in place to enable and encourage homeownership should be a key focus of the federal government.
Australia’s current housing shortage is the result of both supply and demand issues. On the supply side, government red tape, tax, and a shortage of workers in the economy, are placing upward pressure on production and development costs. On the demand side, the unprecedented and unplanned surge in immigration is placing immense strain on the housing market and putting further upward pressure on prices.
While the creation and implementation of a housing and homelessness plan is a necessary step in the right direction, the framework laid out in the bill fails to take into proper consideration the role that the federal government’s unplanned immigration program and the role that government regulation has in excaberbating housing supply shortages. The bill only addresses the symptoms of the crisis, not its causes.
