‘Frustratingly depressing’: What is the root cause of our housing crisis?

Poor planning, endless economic growth, too many migrants and difficult developers – these are just some of the problems letter writers and online commenters believe are contributing to the country’s worsening housing crisis.

Is Sydney’s planning system broken?

Chris Minns came to power promising to go up, not out, but the hard part is making it happen. Associate editor and special writer Deborah Snow looked at Sydney’s problems with planning.

Teximus Prime It is so frustratingly depressing. There is an absolute lack of leadership on this. Band-Aid solutions aimed at trying to keep everyone happy. No planning. Ignoring any previous planning. No proper funding for public agencies that are crucial to making the system work properly.

grumpyom The first step in a housing plan is to revisit the premise of endless economic growth. Does it create a better standard of living for all?

If new high-rise housing is to be built, it must be built close to employment opportunities. Appin, Wilton and Marsden Park condemn the residents to a lifetime of long and congested commuting.

RichardU If light coloured roofs are the answer, why do they have to be mandated? The environmental benefit of trees is hardly a new discovery. Why has providing space for them been neglected by the planning geniuses?

Adam Our planning system is broken. Time for a reboot. Study how it has been done well overseas and start again with fresh eyes.

Time to develop new towns?

Columnist Parnell Palme McGuinness confessed she’s a YIMBY (Yes In My Backyard) and would like to see her home city grow into its global potential. As she wrote from a Singaporean roof garden, she asked if the housing crisis could be solved by winning over the NIMBYs and building more apartments.

Benno Terraced houses with a backyard are the best. The key word there is “house″⁣, that sits on land. Why can’t these be built instead of towers?

Didi If developers and builders built apartments properly with waterproofing and sound proofing then I’m all for it, but they mostly build poor quality crappy towers.

Rallan It is time for the major cities to put a lid on both population and sprawl. Future growth should be in a series of new towns (both low and medium density) built alongside existing transport corridors to regional centres.

not old yet High density housing could work but not set down in suburbs for which it is not designed. The tower block mentality of developers is abhorrent and out of date. Develop hubs in regional areas. This proposal has frequently been aired but as yet not acted upon because it would mean planning new cities from the ground up.

Are politicians addressing the housing crisis?

Robert Menzies’ clarion call for the “forgotten people” to buy a home rather than rent has been so successful we now have three classes of home occupation: outright owners, purchasers with mortgages and renters. This has left a third of households who are renters without political representation – which is where the Greens are stepping in, explains Australian Architecture Association president Tone Wheeler.

Sharon Webb This is a big issue for Labor and Albanese’s credibility. Homelessness is huge in Australia, a large percentage are middle-aged women. The previous Liberal government should be embarrassed because it did nothing; the current Labor government’s plans are inadequate. Albanese appears to prefer a political tussle to putting roofs over Australians’ heads.

pault07 All the parties are homeowner-friendly despite the various pantomimes from the ALP and the Greens. Relentless increasing demand for land via rapid population growth will do that. And none of them show the slightest interest in addressing the issue.

David A big chunk of the electorate wants house prices to go up. A big chunk want house prices to go down. Until now, the two major parties have dealt with this by enacting policies that address housing “affordability”. Politicians have been pumping up house prices with grants, schemes, concessions and ineffective policies, while claiming they were addressing the problem. We seem to be entering a new phase of politics where this strategy is no longer effective. I’m cautiously optimistic. Hopefully, we will see the end of “housing affordability” and the start of a real discussion on housing.

Can the housing problem help shape the nation?

A national deal on housing will seek to speed up approvals for property projects that add new homes around major road and rail routes, as state and federal leaders negotiate new ways to boost housing supply, wrote chief political correspondent David Crowe.

David McMaster, Mosman Let’s stop pulling the wool over our eyes and get the elephant out of the room. We can go on pretending that having one of the developed world’s highest immigration rates isn’t the root cause of housing shortages, or we can fix it. This doesn’t mean we’re racist or anti-foreigners. It simply means we need to fix the housing problem by reducing immigration and not make it worse.

Ozhowes (Vic) Those complaining about migration numbers are likely to be the same people complaining about the shortage of nurses, doctors, plumbers, electricians and carpenters etc. Or that their favourite local cafe doesn’t open Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday because they can’t get staff. Go figure!

GS2 The major cost and delay in new housing is release of land. It has been reported that these delays are a deliberate drip feed strategy by land developers in order to keep profits high. When will governments address this key issue?

jopaca Governments needs to be thinking more broadly and strategically about our future. We don’t just need housing, we need export industries that can replace coal etc. Housing is the most fundamental of infrastructure for the nation. It’s a problem that has to be integrated with the development of our future needs for industry, education, health and transport infrastructure. The housing problem is an opportunity to shape the nation.

• You can join the conversation at smh.com.au in the comments sections of each article and in letters to the editor in print and online. See you next Friday. Yours. Sincerely, Pat Stringa, letters editor

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