Housing Affordability and Planning in Australia: The Challenge of Policy Under Neo-liberalism

Abstract

Housing affordability has once again appeared on the policy agenda of Australian governments. House prices have risen in response to booming demand and constraints on the supply of dwellings, especially a shortage of land in the capital cities and skill shortages within the housing industry. Many young and low-income households have experienced great difficulty in gaining access to homeownership and in being able to afford private rental housing. This paper briefly considers the characteristics of public debate around housing affordability in Australia. It examines the role of neo-liberalism in shaping policy responses to housing affordability problems and assesses the argument that affordability goals can be achieved through manipulation of the planning system. It contends that neo-liberal philosophies of government direct policy action to the planning system, but such strategies have a limited capacity to improve housing affordability. Australian governments need to adopt more effective housing policies if they are to meet the needs of the 700 000 to 1 million households who live in unaffordable housing.

Keywords:

• Housing affordability
• neo-liberalism
• planning
• Australia

Acknowledgements

This work draws upon work completed with the authors’ colleagues Hugh Stretton, Terry Clower, Chris Paris and Lionel Orchard. However, the views and opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors. Thanks also to Emma Baker, Cecile Cutler and Chris Paris for comments on the revised manuscript.

Notes

¹ It is worth noting that in the period 2000–2005 virtually all state governments in Australia ran budget surpluses, as has the national government. Indeed, the Australian government has retired all its debt and at least two state governments have had their international credit rating upgraded from AA+ to AAA.