For the Commonwealth, the best measure is rent assistance. For the states, it’s a mix of two-thirds first homebuyer grants and one-third stamp duty discounts.
The amount of detailed real-time data a smart grid needs to manage the push for electrification and renewables presents challenges – but there’s an affordable solution.
Co-operatives make up only a small part of Australia’s accommodation stock but their users say the benefits warrant it being considered as a way of easing the housing crisis.
Low-income customers who qualify for subsidised rates are five times more likely to use shared e-scooters and e-bikes for daily travel. People with disabilities also value them.
Buildings can be engineered to resist bushfires, but we can’t engineer the many aspects of human behaviour and decision-making that will still put lives at risk.
Neither investors nor super funds are prepared to wear the losses needed to put low-income Australians into housing. The government should double the size of its Housing Australia Future Fund.
The number of active short-term rental listings is a small fraction of the total number of dwellings in Australia – and many listings are not in the city areas of great housing need.
Negative gearing is popular because it lowers home owners’ tax bills. But its critics say it has reduced affordable housing stock keeping the less well off out of the market.
Even changing the tax system won’t end steadily-climbing property prices. They are the result of urbanisation, and while COVID has eased some of the pressures, it has added some more.
People wait years for social housing. In before-and-after interviews, the fortunate ones who were placed in secure, affordable housing describe the profound difference it has made in their lives.
Western Sydney residents whose homes often get hotter inside than outside during heatwaves have learnt to be resourceful in adapting to the increasing heat.
Australian vehicle emissions are even worse than official figures show and are likely to fall even further behind the rest of the world unless much more ambitious policies are adopted.
Climate change is increasing the risks of extreme heat, floods and bushfires, meaning more people are having to consider moving home. But different people come to different decisions.