While the Labor Government tiptoes around housing reform and the Coalition is consumed by its own internal leadership upheavals, housing supply and affordability remain pressing issues for Australians across the country, including here in Curtin.

When I am out doorknocking, meeting with constituents and attending community events, I consistently hear from people about how hard it is to find a suitable and affordable place to live. People who bought their house a generation ago recognise how hard it is for their children and grandchildren to get into the market and live anywhere close to them.

For renters, it’s just as bad. Rents have increased almost three times faster than wages over the past five years. Western Australia is the epicentre of the national rental crunch, with rents soaring 66 percent in just five years.

A Call for Urgent Reform

We need a suite of housing policy reforms that recognise the essential social value of a place to call home and treat it as a priority. There’s no silver bullet, but incremental tweaks are no longer enough. Our leaders need to act with urgency.

A year ago, I published the Curtin Housing Policy, informed by community workshops, backed by expert advice and supported in a community survey. It identifies 15 reform areas to increase housing supply and support renters.

Increasing housing supply

1. Boost government investment in social and affordable housing builds
2. Reform planning/zoning restrictions for higher density and infill
3. Attract more workers to the housing construction sector
4. Slow down infrastructure spending
5. Encourage smaller homes to better match population needs
6. Encourage better use of vacant homes
7. Replace stamp duty with a broad-based land tax
8. Reduce home building costs through increasing productivity
9. Create a level playing field for home buyers by reforming
negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount

Supporting renters

10. Improved security of tenure for renters
11. Encourage institutional investment in build to rent
12. Increase the rate of Commonwealth Rent Assistance
13. Reinstate the National Rental Affordability Scheme
14. Encourage renting out spare bedrooms
15. Increase support for homelessness services

Housing policy should not be used as a political point-scoring weapon. We need all the good ideas, no matter where they come from, and we need them now. It’s time for bold action.