Monique Ryan (Kooyong, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The housing crisis currently affecting millions of people across Australia is not new; it has been brewing for decades. It is a direct result of policy failure, poor planning and neglect by successive governments. It's extraordinary that in one of the least populated countries in the world we have some of the world's most expensive housing.

For too long housing has been treated as a commodity, as something to be bought or sold for profit rather than as a basic human right. This approach has left many Australians without access to secure, affordable, stable housing. The consequences of this crisis are devastating—rising homelessness, housing stress and entire generations shut out of homeownership. Property speculation and a market oriented approach to housing have driven prices to record highs while wages have failed to keep pace. Young people, low-income earners and older single women are among those disproportionately impacted, with many facing the very real prospect of never being able to own their own home and struggling to find a rental they can afford.

At the heart of the housing crisis is a critical shortage of supply. Australia has one of the lowest rates of housing stock per capita in the developed world. This government has a target to build 1.2 million new homes by 2030, but at the current pace of construction we're not going to get anywhere near that mark. Over the years we've seen a raft of bad bandaid solutions floated to address the issue—policies like suggesting young people raid their superannuation to put together a deposit. That would just increase the competition for entry-level homes, put up house prices and only help investors. Governments are entrenching intergenerational inequity by expecting young people to bear the brunt of the housing crisis. The reality is that the market, left to its own devices, cannot and will not meet the housing needs of all Australians. We need federal, state and local government to see this as the crisis that it is and to work on it together. We need a housing accord with more forward planning and cooperation and less arguing and politicking.

Social and public housing is essential to solving the housing crisis. Unlike the profit-driven private market, it provides stable and affordable homes for vulnerable Australians, including low-income earners, older adults, people with disability and those who are fleeing domestic violence. Increased investment in social and public housing would also develop and deliver cost-effective economic benefits via job creation and increased productivity. People in stable housing are healthier. They are able to participate more in the workforce and are less reliant on public services.

Right now, more than 100,000 Australians are on social housing waitlists. But that's an underestimation because we know many don't even bother to apply; they know the waitlist is just too long. Meanwhile, the private rental market continues to fail those who rely on it. Rental vacancies are at historic lows. Rents have risen dramatically, which is putting pressure on renters who are already struggling with the cost of living. Far too many people are putting too much of their income into rent. They're in rental stress and at constant risk of eviction.

It's time that we increase the stock of social and public housing in Australia. This shouldn't be seen as a short-term fix; it should be seen as a long-term investment in the health and wellbeing of our country. Building more public housing will reduce homelessness. It will alleviate pressure on the private rental market. It will also ensure that essential workers—nurses, teachers, aged-care workers and childcare workers—can live near their places of work without being priced out of the market. In addition to the increasing number of public housing units that we need, we also need to improve the condition of existing social housing stock. Much of Australia's public housing is in dire need of maintenance and upgrades. Investment in refurbishment of these homes will give tenants a better quality of life while also making housing more energy efficient and sustainable.

There are clear solutions to this crisis. The federal government's recent commitment to the Housing Australia Future Fund was just a small step in the right direction. We need a bolder and more ambitious plan to significantly expand the availability of housing in this country. This could include working with state and local governments to identify suitable land for new developments and then offering incentives to build well-designed and affordable homes in areas of high demand. A perfect opportunity lies in the 2.5 hectares of Crown land at the former VicRoads site in Kew, in my electorate of Kooyong. This disused site is ideally suited for a sustainable high-quality development, but the Victorian state government has not yet committed to mandating a significant portion of social and affordable housing in that development.

Secondly, we need to implement policies that discourage property speculation, empty homes and land banking. We just can't have developers sitting on approvals for housing projects waiting for prices to rise while Australians are struggling to find homes. As many as 15 per cent of homes in many suburbs are empty. Vacant properties and unused developmental sites could be put to use immediately to alleviate the critical housing shortage.

Thirdly, government should consider innovative approaches to housing policy. For example, extending tax incentives to build-to-rent projects, which could increase the availability of affordable rental housing. Similarly, encouraging private investors to partner with community housing providers, which will then help deliver more homes for those who are in need. We need that development to be done right, transparently and with input from communities.

Again, residents in my electorate of Kooyong have recently expressed real apprehension about the state government's plan to construct as many as 10,000 additional homes within Camberwell Junction and Camberwell Junction Activity Centre. Those residents have voiced very appropriate concerns about the potential impact on local community, on heritage, on infrastructure, on services, on green spaces and on amenity. Residents in my part of the world understand that Camberwell potentially offers a really appropriate suite of infrastructure, amenity and services—and it could well support additional housing. They overwhelmingly agree on the need for additional social, affordable and public housing in our community.

There's considerable concern within Kooyong about the lack of housing for low-income households in the state government's plans for development of the Camberwell Junction area. We have been given no assurance that a significant proportion of the proposed dwellings will be affordable, and the recent changes to the local building codes that have been put through by the state government, again without transparency, raise significant concerns about the potential for mass production of poorly designed and unsustainable units built for rapid sale by developers, not for long-term owner-occupiers.

Given the very significant land, labour and material costs and the existing skill shortages in the building industry, social and affordable housing could be provided in this and in adjacent suburbs, but only with significant government subsidies. Residents in my electorate suburbs of Camberwell, Kew, Hawthorn, Canterbury, East Hawthorn—all areas affected by this potential development—feel that we need a significant and genuine commitment to the inclusion of affordable housing by the state government. We don't want a token gesture of insignificant proportions. The Victorian government had a real opportunity on this occasion to involve local communities in the journey towards greater density and diversification of housing options in our community, but this was an opportunity that it failed to pursue. It failed to consult the community and is now experiencing significant backlash and a loss of social licence.

The major parties have failed to plan for Australia's housing needs, and now a whole generation of Australians is losing hope of ever being able to afford their own home. This is not just a matter of policy; it is a matter of fairness and of justice. Everyone deserves the dignity of safe, secure and affordable housing. Australians know that the housing crisis can only be addressed by sweeping reform, not by bandaid solutions. Every policy lever needs to be pulled, including government investment in public and social housing, addressing skilled labour shortages in the construction trades, reducing disincentives for downsizing, solving the problems of vacant properties and land banking, and building more homes in areas close to public transport, jobs and schools. The political parties, the major parties need to stop tinkering on the margins of this problem and stop bickering for political points. They need to get on with the job of making housing affordable for all Australians.