Housing Minister Clare O'Neil has criticised the Coalition's housing policy as a 'melange of weird things' during a debate with her opposite number, as new data reveals Labor's target of building 1.2 million homes in five years is already 30,000 behind schedule after just six months.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show 90,136 dwellings were completed in the six months to December, including roughly 57,000 houses and 33,000 apartments. To meet the target, an average of 240,000 homes per year is needed, a figure Australia has never achieved in any 12-month period over the past three decades.
Shadow Housing Minister Michael Sukkar refused to commit the Coalition to a specific home-building target if elected, stating: 'I'm saying we'll get to as many as we possibly can, but I'm certain it will be higher than Labor.' He described unaffordable housing as 'one of the most catastrophic policy failures in a generation', linking high migration to rising prices.
O'Neil defended Labor's target as 'bold and ambitious', adding: 'What he's really saying here is that the answer to this problem is to lower the national ambition – and low ambition is what got us here.' Independent property expert Cameron Kusher noted: 'Whilst I never believed the target was going to be achievable, we've started off very slowly and are well behind the target already.'
Master Builders Australia CEO Denita Wawn said both parties have work to do, calling for action on supply constraints, shovel-ready land, infrastructure, skills, and red tape reduction.
