Category Archives: Housing

Australia politics live: Howard says Labor’s dominance won’t last long; emissions bill haggling down to the wire

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The government is yet to strike a deal that will get its safeguard mechanism bill through the upper house. Follow the day’s politics live

Paul Fletcher won’t answer the question of whether or not he will run again in Bradfield.

He is dancing around this question like he is auditioning for the new Fred Astaire biopic. (Tom Holland has the role, and anyone who has seen his Umbrella dance will know why.)

I continue to consider serving the people of Bradfield to be an enormous privilege and … any rational politician always considers what they’re going to do as you come to the end of each term.

I’ve done that before the end of each past term, but what I can tell you is it’s an honour to serve the people of Bradfield. I continue to be committed to it, energetic in doing, so I spent most of Saturday across a whole range of polling booths engaging with my constituents. I enjoyed it. I found it energising, and I believe that the Liberal party has a very important role in serving the people of Australia and certainly in serving the people of Bradfield and that’s something I’m committed to.

I think the first point is that after three terms and 12 years, inevitably, it becomes harder to win a fourth term.

It’s the nature of our democracy of Australian democracy that the electorate starts to look for alternatives.

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‘Unprecedented’: domestic violence shelters reach capacity amid Queensland housing crisis

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Women escaping violence are staying in refuges for years due to a lack of alternative social housing, providers say

Domestic violence shelters in Queensland say they are struggling to make space for new arrivals, with the housing crisis seeing women staying in some refuges for years .

The added strain on the sector has created a bottleneck , with shelters having to place some women in hotels or refuges far from their support networks.

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Early career essential workers unable to afford house prices anywhere in Sydney and Melbourne

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Study shows workers forced to commute huge distances, live in overcrowded housing or suffer rental or mortgage stress

There is no longer a single local government area across metropolitan Sydney or Melbourne where houses are affordable for early career essential workers, with a growing number of police commuting huge distances and nurses living in cramped share homes.

Essential workers are being forced to move further away from their inner city jobs due to ballooning rents and housing costs. Experts are warning that longer commutes are exacerbating stress and fatigue in industries where levels of both are already high.

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Queensland tenants and social groups welcome proposal to limit rent increases to once a year

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But expert says limiting frequency of rent hikes without a cap is unlikely to make a difference amid rising rate of homelessness

A proposal by the Queensland government to limit rent increases to once a year has been applauded by the tenants’ union and social organisations who say the measure would ease cost-of-living pressures.

In Queensland, landlords can currently increase rents every six months. Limiting rent increases to once a year would bring the state in line with other Australian jurisdictions like Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and New South Wales.

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‘It’s Up to Us’: squeezed by the housing crisis, a NSW rural community finds its own solution

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After raising $350K, a group of Bega electorate residents provided temporary units for locals, but long-term investment is needed to provide more permanent accommodation

About two years ago, Michael Brosnan decided he could no longer wait for the government to act on the housing crisis.

As more and more people were squeezed into homelessness in his community on the far south coast of New South Wales, he and other locals decided to start a fundraiser.

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Justice department intervenes in suit alleging racial bias in mortgage lending

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Two Johns Hopkins professors say loanDepot lowballed them by nearly $300,000 on their Baltimore home due to their race

The Department of Justice on Monday intervened in a federal lawsuit alleging that an appraiser and a mortgage lender discriminated against a couple who are both Johns Hopkins University professors by significantly lowering the value of their Baltimore home and denying a loan because they are Black.

In response to a pending motion to dismiss the lawsuit by the mortgage lender, loanDepot, justice department civil rights attorneys filed a “statement of interest” in a federal district court in Maryland arguing that the case raised significant questions about appraisal racial bias, noting that President Joe Biden had identified the issue “as a priority for the federal government”.

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Perrottet’s future fund for children risks increasing poverty divide, social advocates say

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Benefit will depend on how much parents can afford to contribute, with wealthier families getting ‘an extra leg up’, critics say

The New South Wales government’s cornerstone election policy, which aims to help the next generation pay for housing and education, has been criticised by social advocates who claim the scheme will further entrench inequality.

The Kids Future Fund would see all children 10 and under handed an account with $400 in it, with the government to match parents’ future contributions of up to $400 every year until the age of 18.

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‘Poster child for nimbyism’: California sues city over lack of affordable housing

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State officials launch lawsuit against wealthy city of Huntington Beach to force it to build new homes

California officials are suing Huntington Beach, a wealthy coastal city lambasted by the state’s governor as the “poster child for nimbyism”, in an attempt to force it to build more affordable housing.

Defiant Huntington Beach officials have filed their own lawsuit in response, pledging to fight any attempt by the state to “urbanize” their affluent, majority-white community.

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Sydney trains delayed due to ‘communication issue’ – as it happened

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This blog is now closed.

Facing up to financial distress

It is not just academic though – there have been increased reports of people feeling distressed because of financial pressures.

When people are under extreme financial pressure, that has implications for their wellbeing more broadly. I mean, I think that is understood. And I’m sure that the governor in accepting that meeting understands that.

What we want to do as government is make life a little bit easier for people where we can, whether it’s with energy bills, whether it’s with cheaper early childhood education, cheaper medicines, trying to get wages moving again, financial security is a big part of what we’re focused on, particularly when these cost-of-living pressures are so acute.

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NSW Coalition accused of racism and paternalism after pledge to stop controversial development

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Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council proposed to build 450 homes at Sydney’s Lizard Rock

The New South Wales Coalition has been accused of racist, paternalistic and politically expedient decision-making after it vowed to spike a proposal to build 450 homes in bushland on Sydney’s northern beaches by its Indigenous proponents.

The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council’s chief executive, Nathan Moran, said the decision by the government to block its plan for the 71 hectare Lizard Rock site was an attempt to save three seats at risk from teal independents at the 25 March election.

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Philip Lowe leaves clues his rate-rising work may be done – bar an Easter finale | Peter Hannam

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The RBA governor has ditched his hawkish tone and the odds now seem to favour just one more rise, probably in April – but that could change

There are, as Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe reminded us as he announced a record 10th consecutive interest rate rise, “a range of potential scenarios for the Australian economy”.

One scenario, it seems, involves interest rates not rising much further. In fact, the RBA’s pre-Easter gathering on 4 April may mark the final rate hike in this cycle.

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Share of affordable properties in Australian capital cities has more than halved, analysis shows

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The proportion of dwellings listed for under $400 a week has more than halved to an average of just 15% across the country

The share of rental properties listed for under $400 a week has more than halved to 15% across most Australian capital cities over the past year, accounting for just 7.8% of Sydney listings in February.

Research from data provider PropTrack, based on analysis of realestate.com.au found renters seeking a standalone house faced an even tighter market, with less than 5% of Sydney homes listed at under $400 a week.

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‘Web of lies’: how scammers are taking advantage of Australia’s tight rental market

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The ACCC received more than 658 reports about rental and accommodation scams last year, with a reported loss of $544,846

Like many, Aven was desperately looking for a house.

Last October, the 21-year-old was frantically applying for dozens of rental properties – attending inspections, putting in applications and becoming increasingly stressed by the string of rejections.

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Australia bucking OECD trend with city dwellers still moving to the country

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Latest statistics show migration from metro areas is still higher than pre-pandemic levels

Australia’s shift towards the regions is continuing, with new figures showing an increase in the number of city dwellers moving out and a lift in the number of regional residents moving to smaller centres.

According to the latest Regional Movers Index, a quarterly report by the Regional Australia Institute and Commonwealth Bank, net “capital to regional” migration was up 16% on pre-Covid levels despite a small uptick in regional Australians returning to cities.

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Australian renters swelter in ‘worrying indoor temperatures’ of up to 40C in summer

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Apartments surveyed found to be above safe level on average nine hours a day as tenants cut back on cooling to save on energy bills

Despite the cooler summer, renters are sweltering through temperatures as hot as 40C in their homes, new research has revealed, with advocates saying the cost-of-living crisis is forcing people to live in unhealthy conditions.

Tenant advocacy organisation Better Renting tracked the temperatures in 77 rentals across Australia between December 2022 and February this year and found that for nine hours a day they were above a safe level on average. Four jurisdictions recorded indoor temperatures above 40C.

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England’s new housing supply likely to fall to lowest level in decades, study says

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Home Builders Federation warns planning policy changes will result in government meeting less than half its annual target

Housebuilding in England is due to fall to its lowest level since the second world war, according to an analysis by the Home Builders Federation (HBF), owing to a range of government policies that threaten to dramatically slow development.

The study says the supply of new housing is likely to fall below 120,000 homes annually over the coming years, less than half of the government’s target, as a result of changes to planning policy and what developers say is over-strict enforcement of environmental regulations.

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Rezone more land to get more housing, NSW government says – but that can be a recipe for disaster

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Fast-tracking development in the Macarthur region will give Sydney a massive new infrastructure challenge

It’s a simple and seductive solution: rezone more land on the fringes of Sydney for housing and real estate prices will fall, thanks to greater supply.

But the reality is more complex.

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Fans and stars farewell Olivia Newton-John – as it happened

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Actor and ‘cultural icon’ honoured in state memorial service at Hamer Hall. This blog is now closed

Independent MP Zali Steggall suggests Labor’s take on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is “greenwashing,” following the appearance of Chris Bowen, minister for industry, energy and emissions reduction, on ABC Insiders this morning.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers defended potential alterations to tax breaks on multimillion-dollar superannuation balances on Sky News this morning.

The fundamentals won’t change. The tax concessionality will still be there, but we do need to consider whether we can afford the degree of tax concessionality for people who’ve got very big balances.

I’m not interested in a war of words with John Howard. John Howard is someone who I respect and he deserves better than to be wheeled out to prop up Angus Taylor’s dodgy arguments or to shore up Peter Dutton’s failing leadership.

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Corruption watchdog warned NSW government of risks around plan to fast-track rezoning of land for housing

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Independent Commission Against Corruption warned ‘a favourable rezoning’ of large swathes on Sydney’s fringes could deliver windfall to developers

The New South Wales corruption watchdog advised the state’s department of planning that its decision to fast-track large areas of land for rezoning for new housing carried with it a number of risks, Guardian Australia can reveal.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption warned that “a favourable rezoning” under the plan to rezone large swathes of land on Sydney’s fringes “could deliver a significant windfall to an applicant” and that this could prompt applicants to attempt “various lobbying techniques”, including “direct approaches to the minister”, and “using or cultivating personal contacts” within the department.

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Byron Bay faces housing crisis as short-term rentals such as Airbnb surge, residents say

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The thriving tourism industry is ‘undermining the fabric of our society’, one local tells public hearing into proposed cap

Byron Bay residents have voiced their outrage at the impact short-term rentals have had on the region, with some claiming the area has been invaded.

The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission held its first day of a public hearing into a proposal by the local council to drop the number of days available for short-term rentals from 180 to 90 a year.

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