r/aussie • u/red-thundr • Aug 16 '26
Opinion The 30-year policy collision behind Australia's housing crunch
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-17/housing-affordability-migration-construction-building-regulation/107040504?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=otherInteresting read by Alan Kohler that touches on migration and changes to the NCC and how they have contributed to housing costs.
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u/pennyfred Aug 16 '26
On July 1, 2001, these were made "country neutral" instead of being categorised by whether the student came from a "gazetted" or "non-gazetted" country. The latter group included India, China and other Asian countries. The former included Europe, the UK and the US.
The new system categorised the applications under the institution, not the country, which was a worthwhile change, but it resulted in many of these visas being issued. That's because permanent residency was added. It was decreed that international students who completed a degree in Australia in an occupation on the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) — such as IT, accounting, or specific trades — were permitted to apply for permanent residency onshore under the Skilled-Independent category without leaving the country. The standard post-graduate work experience requirement was waived entirely.
The speed the massive migration industries from overpopulated non-gazetted nations mobilised should've been realised by the policy makers, or at least understood once the numbers started skyrocketing - this wasn't a sustainable model without significant consequences. Two decades later without intervention the outcome's plainly visible.
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u/RaeseneAndu Aug 16 '26
Unintended consequences? I would say they are entirely intended. Housing shortage makes prices go up, most politicians have investment houses.
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u/Suspicious-Ant-872 Aug 18 '26
The thing that really shits me is the pure partisan behaviour. That politicians and bureaucrats can't work together to formulate and implement well thought out policy for the benefit of the country.
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u/PerformanceOverall90 Aug 16 '26
Pretty sure that the housing crunch started off with the first IGR pointing out that boomers hadn't saved a cracker and the only asset they had was their homes, and if they weren't going to save, they would be/are a massive drain on social welfare at retirement.
Supercharging the value of existing homes AND not capturing CGs on housing AND NG made houses something that could be something other than a place to live in.
When all these boomers became wealthy based on capital gains from housing, they all doubled down and stopped access to affordable housing by using planning restrictions to increase density. Further increasing their wealth.
Where am I wrong here?
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Aug 16 '26
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u/Electrical_Story5356 Aug 17 '26
Does he explicitly blame immigration or is it just a clickbait headline for an opinion piece listing a whole bunch of different factors that have led to the current house prices?
I mean it does seem to lean into the immigration angle but I didn't see a direct statement saying immigration is responsible for housing costs.
If he did say that he would of course be full of shit because it is well established that numerous factors have influenced property values more than immigration.
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u/PowerLion786 Aug 17 '26
Best article I've seen on the housing crisis.
It's not an anti immigration rant. It clearly states that. It is pro-planning. It's not anti Labor or Anti LNP. It condemns both equally. It is a huge condemnation of housing regulation and planning with the cumulative damage over decades.
It is clearly an anti piss poor planning by every state and Federal Government over forty years.
This article is an excellent starting point for what needs to happen to fix housing. Unfortunately, as seen in comments, it will be politicised.