DEAR News Of The Area,

THE price of housing in Australia has become such an issue it has been called a crisis.

Many people have been priced out of ever owning a home and having the security of shelter that should be a human right.

As we approach a federal election it will be discussed endlessly.

Here is my two cents.

Firstly, what does not work?

Any scheme that puts money into the hands of first home buyers, such as first homeowner grants, stamp duty exemption, or access to one’s superannuation funds, will increase the price of housing.

It will not build a single house.

Secondly, why not build more houses?

Around 178,000 new houses are expected to be built this financial year, which is well short of the 240,000 required to meet government commitments.

The main problem with building more houses is a shortage of skilled workers. It has been pointed out by the trades industry bodies that we need well over 100,000 new building workers to meet the challenge.

But skilled workers cannot be just magiced up out of thin air.

Trade workers need to complete a four year apprenticeship which is often poorly paid and the TAFE courses are expensive.

Add to that the fact that the building industry is male dominated, which is self-reinforcing and restricts the potential labour pool.

Only 13.6 percent of building and construction workers are female.

Even if we invest in training and get more women into the industry, which needs to happen, that is a pipeline that will take five to ten years to get up to full speed.

Finally, there needs to be an incentive to build houses in a way that lowers the price of all houses.

House prices need to fall to make them more affordable to more people.

They cannot keep rising faster than wages and inflation forever.

That is not sustainable.

The government must intervene in the market and build public housing to put pressure on the private market.

Australians have the largest houses in the world.

We also, like most of the world, have a falling birth rate.

It would not kill us to build and live in smaller houses.

There is so much more to say on this issue but I will leave it there, except to say that we are witnessing a market failure that needs action to reduce the price of houses as a goal.

Peter SOBEY,
Valla.