Business lays groundwork for more housing supply
Rezone more land, speed up approvals and streamline accreditation for tradies – these are the measures the business lobby says will unlock more housing and improve affordability.
A national fund to prop up new builds, constructing more infrastructure and addressing labour and materials shortages are also among measures outlined by the Business Council for the government to meet its housing accords target.
“Australia has a housing supply crisis and we need urgent action from all levels of government to fix it,” chief executive Bran Black said in launching the group’s housing report.
“We want the federal government to create a new national reform fund, like the one created in the 1990s, that incentivises states to fix regulation and planning bottlenecks that hold back homes being built.”
Skilled migration and trained workers are also needed to address crippling shortages in the industry, Black said.
One way to boost tradies would be to harmonise licensing and accreditation across states and territories, he said, so those registered in one state could work in others.
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The council’s wishlist of 29 recommendations follows the opposition unveiling a $5 billion plan to build enabling infrastructure such as water and sewerage to get projects moving, as it takes the fight to Labor over housing policy ahead of the upcoming election.
It has further pledged to cut building red tape under its plan in a move welcomed by business, building and property groups.
Labor says the coalition’s pledge is already part of its housing policy being enacted through its own funds, which have been established to address a shortage of homes.
The party is also chastising both the opposition and Greens for stalling legislation in parliament that would set up a shared equity scheme allowing some home-owners to enter the market.
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The Greens are holding out support for the Help to Buy scheme, arguing for more social housing investment and cuts to tax concessions for property investors.
Labor ministers have again ruled out changes to concessions on negative gearing and capital gains.
Finance Minister Katy Gallagher warned the Greens to work constructively with the government, after the minor party’s local members lost seats in the ACT election.
“It’ll be interesting to see whether there is any self-reflection on losing half of their seats, and what that might be due to,” the ACT senator and former territory chief minister said on Sunday.
Being seen to block progress after voters installed them to help address crises in key areas like housing could frustrate the electorate, she warned.
When asked whether the Greens vote was impacted by them being in a coalition government with Labor in the ACT, Senator Gallagher said: “There would have been an equal argument to say that they should stop being blockers and start working with the government.”
Federal Greens housing spokesman Max Chandler-Mather maintains that pressure works, after leveraging their balance of power in the Senate to force Labor to invest more in social housing when negotiating previous legislation.
Independent ACT senator David Pocock said the dwindled vote for Labor, Liberals and Greens candidates, and a surge in support for independents, showed people want politicians who were not tethered to party interests.
– AAP
