The Housing Industry Association (HIA) welcomes the national focus on increasing housing supply and easing affordability pressures.
HIA Chief Executive Industry Policy and Media, Graham Wolfe observes that shelter is a basic human requirement, and access to affordable housing underpins an individual’s capacity to prosper and contribute to the community and economy more broadly.
Describing housing supply as a national issue requiring federal leadership, Mr Wolfe said the discussion about how Australia will increase the supply of housing to keep pace with the requirements of a growing and ageing population, is timely and appropriate.
However, the national debate on the issue needs a Federal Minister for Housing to lead the conversation and oversee a strategy for policy reform. The Minister should be supported by resources in Treasury to evaluate the status of housing supply and ensure a framework for the adequate supply of shovel ready land across greenfield, infill and brownfield locations around Australia.
These measures include increasing the land supply pipeline; reducing excessive taxation on new housing; improving planning systems; and reforming infrastructure delivery so that new homeowners don’t shoulder the burden of assets that benefit the whole community.
Graham Wolfe reiterated that federal support was needed for reform of residential infrastructure funding, where the current excessive cost to new home buyers was replaced by a bond financing model at a state or local government level.
