Table of Contents

Article 1 The five charts that prove there is a housing affordability crisis 2

Audio Source 1 It all Adds Up 3

Audio Source 2 Housing Affordability 4

Article 2 What is happening to improve housing affordability in Canberra? 5

Article 3 Governments cant solve housing affordability 6

Article 4 Australias housing affordability crisis creating dependent generation 7

Article 5 ACT government considers Territory Plan change, developer incentives for
affordable housing 8

Article 6 The Government says it has a plan to fix the housing affordability crisis. This chart
suggests it doesnt 9

Audio Source 3 The Housing Bubble 10

Article 7 Can Sydneys housing affordability crisis be solved in homeshare between the young
and the elderly? 11

Article 8 Housing affordability issues could be helped by allowing renters to buy without a
deposit, Federal MP says 12

Article 9 The Risk is greater than the GFC if we cant fix the housing crisis 13
The Sydney Morning Herald

The five charts that prove there is a housing affordability crisis

Jessica Irvine and Matt Wade

This recent Sydney Morning Herald Article considers the criticism that many young people face in
the midst of the housing crisis, which includes too many meals out, too many holidays and not
enough saving. However, these criticisms are exposed as largely unfair as respected economist John
Daley describes the crisis is that younger households, particularly those on lower incomes, used to
be able to buy houses in Australia and now they cant. It also provides relevant statistics such as
Australian home ownership has dipped to its lowest level since post-WW2.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-five-charts-that-prove-there-is-a-
housing-affordability-crisis-20170414-gvla09.html

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The Sydney Morning Herald

It all Adds Up
Fairfax Media

The podcast It All Adds Up is

dedicated to the discussion of
economic issues facing
Australia, including the housing
affordability crisis. Hosted by a
team of economists from
Fairfax media, the first episode
discusses the controversy
surrounding the crisis and
skyrocketing property prices.
Economist Ross Gittins is a
strong and opinionated voice,
claiming that homeownership is
a basic Australian right and
that individuals who believe
that rising house prices is
positive have a large element
of illusion and dont give a
stuff about your children.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/welcome-to-our-new-economics-podcast-
it-all-adds-up-20170620-gwutd4.html

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TED Talks

Housing Affordability
Eliza Owen

This TED Talk provides quality

insight on the housing crisis from the
perspective of a young person. Eliza
Owen is a young economist who seeks
to challenge the conversations about
housing affordability that are
dominated by people who are older
than we are, who are largely wealthier
than we are. She provides helpful
statistics using median value of houses
and relates it to the everyday realities
of young people, providing If you had
a job for $20 per hour, you would have
to work over 47, 000 hours just to earn
that. Through using humour to
convey her point, Owens suggests a
possible solution to this is by
encouraging more young people to get
involved in economics. This may be
through taking economics at high
school or university or just generally
reading more in the media.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzzHawjP648

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ABC Radio Canberra

What is happening to improve housing affordability in Canberra?

Simon Tennent

The podcast What is

happening to improve
housing affordability in
Canberra is devoted to the
ongoing debate of the
changes Australia are facing,
more specifically to residents
of Canberra in order to
successfully improve the
housing affordability. The
podcast is lead by ACT
economic development
official Simon Tennent as he
discusses the Affordable
Housing Plan that has been
in place since 2007 and the
many actions and objectives
that have been in place since then. Economic official Tennent passionately expresses the
government focus on the lowest 2 income quintiles for the ACT and gives his verdict on how the
Affordable Housing Plan has impacted the ACT. The Affordable Housing Plan looks at the
people most in need eg. the homeless sector through to struggling young families looking to
purchase new homes. The Government has been extremely committed to increasing Land supply
across Australia. There has been some wins but there certainly has been some policies that
havent quite hit the mark, which is where the government is at the moment.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/radio/canberra/programs/breakfast/what-is-happening-to-improve-
housing-affordability-in-canberra/8726514

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SBS News
Governments cant solve housing affordability
Chris Richardson

This recent SBS article includes

the opinion of Deloitte economics
director Chris Richardson who
urges the federal government to
better pursue economic reform.
He criticises the current
government - Canberra is
absolutely struggling to get the
message across that reform brings
benefits. However, he argues
that whilst reform is required, the
government does not have the
potential to completely curb the
sky-high house prices in the
capital cities of Australia due to
low interest rates. Thus, the
article suggests that other
solutions need to be considered.

Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2017/04/12/governments-cant-solve-housing-
affordability-economist-says

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The Guardian

Australias housing affordability crisis

creating dependent generation
Elle Hunt

This recent 2017 article by The

Guardian explores the negative
consequences of the housing crisis on
younger generations. It is of the opinion
that unaffordable housing has resulted in
younger generations being increasingly
dependent on their parents whilst they
save for a deposit on a home. This article
debunks many of the criticisms on young
people that are explored in other articles
that suggest young people just arent
saving enough. This is done through the
inclusion of statistics such as those from
The Perceptions of Housing
Affordability report by property data
analysts Core Logic, which found that
62% of respondents who were living at
home only did so because they could not
afford to buy property.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/may/08/australias-housing-affordability-
crisis-creating-dependent-generation-study

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Canberra Times

ACT government considers Territory Plan change,

developer incentives for affordable housing
Kirsten Lawson

C anberra Times
journalist Kirsten Lawson fervently discusses her opinionated response to the possibility of allowing
developers in the ACT a bigger footprint or more storeys in apartment buildings in return for
providing more affordable housing. As the move may subsequently increase the amount of
affordable housing that is available. The article is primarily based off the affordable housing
discussion paper written by housing minister Yvette Berry, which reveals many alternatives to solve
the continual rise in the cost of housing as well as including applicable statistics of all types of
households. The response exposes Canberra housing in being one of the most expensive rental
markers in Australia, but includes incentives of Landlords to charge lower rent, through lower rates,
stamp duty or land tax and incentives to developers to build lower cost rentals. The message of
people moving to Canberra from expensive cities such as Sydney or Melbourne is implied as a short-
term alternative to soften the impact the housing affordability crisis has on Australians.

Source: http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/act-government-considers-territory-plan-
change-developer-incentives-for-affordable-housing-20170728-gxkpb9.html

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The Sydney Morning Herald

The Government says it has a plan to fix

the housing affordability crisis. This chart
suggests it doesnt
Inga Ting

The article criticizes the

Liberal partys effective
way to tackle housing
affordability through
relevant statistics
contradicting the housing
affordability policy of
building more houses.
The article reveals the
truths behind the
governments attempts of
solving the problem
affordability among
Australians. Economist
and geographer Peter
Phibbs gives his insight
on the Liberal
governments efforts
stating The housing
market doesn't behave
like the market for
bananas or cans of beans,
experts say. For example,
when the price of bananas
rise, people buy fewer bananas and more alternative fruits, like apples or oranges. Further the
article suggests the potential solution of using inclusionary zoning as an alternative to the Liberal
Partys policy. Where developments in areas of high value to include a specific amount of homes
for moderate- and low-income earners. However this is only a partial solution to the housing
affordability crisis as the cost of housing will undoubtedly increase according to the chart of
Median Sale Price vs Dwelling completions in Sydney, from 1991-2015.

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Source: http://www.smh.com.au/business/the-economy/the-government-says-it-has-a-plan-to-fix-
the-housing-affordability-crisis-this-chart-suggests-it-doesnt-20160902-gr7sbz.html

ABC News

The Housing Bubble

ABC 7:30 News

This clip is from the 7.30 ABC

report on the housing crisis,
including various competing
perspectives on the crisis. To begin,
it includes an interview with an
aspiring home-owner, describing
Weve been looking at getting into
the market for a few years now in
Sydney. However, it is increasingly
becoming not an option for her,
as she has been informed she will
need an $100,000 deposit. Further,
it includes the perspective of PM
Malcolm Turnbull, who rejects the
notion that young Australians
should give up the idea of home
ownership, but that more dwellings
should be built. On the other hand,
liberal MP John Alexanders
advice to young Australians is to
buy a lottery ticket.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyW_6jSPJh0

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ABC News

Can Sydneys housing affordability

crisis be solved in homeshare between
the young and the elderly?
Amanda Hoh

This article discusses the potential for

house-sharing between younger and
older generations to combat the
housing crisis. This is based off the
statistic that over 500, 000 homes in
NSW occupied by residents over 50
had at least two empty bedrooms. It
gives the example of a 60 year old
woman and a 23 year old woman, who
have a mutually beneficial home-
share, which allows the younger
woman lower rent whilst she saves for
a home. To combat concerns about
undesirable housemates, it is
suggested that the future program
includes criteria to match the
applicants.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-25/homeshare-study-for-elderly-and-young-sydney-
housing-crisis/7959512

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ABC News

Housing affordability issues could be helped by allowing

renters to buy without a deposit, Federal MP says
Ashlynne Mcghee

The article written by political

reporter Ashlynne Mcghee
examines a creative solution to
the housing affordability crisis
devised by Andrew Broad a
federal government MP. His
argument was if the mortgage
payment were roughly the same
as the buyers rent, the bank
should not need security.
Broad touches on the fact of
financial institutions and Banks
requiring a 20% deposit which
was locking people out of the
property market and the
statistics of lower income
quintiles just not being able to
save that amount of money.
Broads suggestion has sparked
a great amount of interest in the
eye of the public as theres a
lot of receptiveness to Broads
creative solution.

Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-17/housing-affordability:-let-renters-buy-without-
deposit-mp-says/8278254

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The Sydney Morning Herald

The Risk is greater than the GFC if we

cant fix the housing crisis
John Hewson

This 2017 Sydney Morning

Herald article attributes the
housing crisis to the sustained
rise in the cost of housing,
with demand outweighing
supply, particularly in the
larger cities. Relevant
statistics are included, such as
that housing prices have risen
by over 250% since the mid
1990s, with the median house
in Sydney, for example, now
above $1 million. The article
predicts that there are tens of
thousands of Australians now
without a home. The article
also discusses potential
solutions, claiming that any
attempts must be
multifaceted, working on both
demand and supply. In regards
to demand, solutions may
include reducing negative
gearing and restricting foreign
demand and investment.
However, this is only a partial solution. Regarding supply, it is suggested that governments should
restrict auctions from developers and faster land release and approval processes. It is predicted that
if policies are not implemented soon, the effects could be worse than the GFC.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-risk-is-greater-than-the-gfc-if-we-cant-fix-the-
housing-crisis-20170309-guu4sf.html

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