Govt urged to address affordability
Mortgage Choice chief executive officer Michael Russell is urging the federal government to step in and put a stop to Australia’s worsening housing supply issue.
“Now it is time for governments to take immediate and effective action, which is long overdue, or suffer the consequences of even more Australians being pushed out of the market,” he said.
Mr Russell said Australians deserve transparent, effective housing decisions to be made quickly and regularly in the interests of turning around the deterioration of affordability.
“We call on the Federal Minister for Housing to open up a much more productive, consultative communication channel with the state planning ministers to take immediate action to resolve the true cause of housing affordability. The real issues are problems with sufficient land release, development approval processes and development costs,” he said.
“Undersupply is the barricade, not interest rates. The latest Productivity Commission report findings are long overdue; much-needed improvements must be actioned ASAP.”
The government’s latest Productivity Commission report found that the most common cause of delays and extended timeframes in the land supply process of all jurisdictions is the rezoning/planning scheme amendment process, structure planning process and overcoming community concerns and/or addressing objections.