Bradfield is the most unaffordable electorate in the country in which to buy a home. Getting the definition of "affordable" right is where I've put my energy since arriving in Parliament.
As one of the wealthiest nations in the world, it alarms me that the security of a home is out of reach for so many. Housing is essential to wellbeing. Study after study shows that people in secure housing are more likely to find and keep stable work, enjoy better health, and raise children who are better adjusted in schools and communities where they feel connected to place.
Housing is a human right — something all Australians should have the opportunity to experience and enjoy.
Here in Bradfield, I see the consequences every day. Essential workers can't afford to live near their workplace. Families can't live close to their support networks. A generation of young people have lost hope of ever owning their own home.
Across Ku-ring-gai and Willoughby, new apartments and homes are going up. The community is holding up its end of the bargain. What comes back is often called affordable housing while costing far more than the people it's meant to serve can pay.
Setting a national definition of affordable housing
When I arrived in Parliament, I assumed that behind the billions governments spend on affordable housing there was a shared definition and a register counting what had been delivered. There isn't one. Affordability is defined differently by almost everyone, sometimes in ways that undermine the ordinary meaning of the word.
That has real consequences. Without one definition, institutional investors have nothing bankable to invest against, governments can't measure delivery, and families are offered homes at rents they cannot pay.
That's why I've delivered:
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A community petition calling for a strict, consistent national definition drew almost 12,000 signatures.
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A roundtable at Parliament House brought together developers, super funds, councils, community housing providers and researchers. Read more here.
- A report back from the Parliamentary roundtable on affordable housing - you can read that here.
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A Private Member's Bill to put that definition in law, backed by the petition and the roundtable, is being introduced to the House.
Increasing housing supply
Only a generation ago the public sector built 15% of all new housing stock, a share that has fallen to less than 5%. The absence of investment in affordable, high-quality housing at the bottom of the market has pushed people into ever less affordable housing and created too much demand for existing stock.
Around 190,000 households sit on social housing waiting lists against roughly 18,000 vacancies each year. That gap is the whole problem in one line.
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Significantly expand the Housing Australia Future Fund to grow the supply of social and affordable housing.
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Back the call for one in ten new homes to be public housing, funded directly and tied to a resident's income rather than the market rate.
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Reduce the red tape slowing planning approvals for new housing.
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Support investment in infrastructure, transport and utilities in new housing precincts to unlock private investment.
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Deliver free TAFE and apprentice wage subsidies in construction and essential trades so we have the workforce to house our population.
Helping first home buyers
You used to be able to buy a family home on a single income with a bit of hard work. Housing prices have raced ahead of wages. It now takes the better part of a decade for someone on a median income to save a deposit on a median-priced home that is smaller and less suitable than earlier generations could access.
I've heard many stories of young couples delaying having a family because they can't carry the cost of children alongside university fee debt, rising rents and saving for a deposit.
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Expand the Help to Buy scheme so more households can share equity with the government on a first home.
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Support concessional interest rates for first home buyers. APRA can offer these for specific classes of borrower.
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Keep superannuation out of house deposits. Early access would be absorbed into prices and would wipe out young people's retirement savings.
Improving rental affordability
Around 70% of renters are in rental stress. More than half a million households remain in rental stress even after receiving Commonwealth Rent Assistance, which tells you the payment isn't doing the job it was designed to do.
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Increase and better target Commonwealth Rent Assistance, so that households receiving it are lifted out of rental stress.
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Discourage property speculation, land-banking and empty homes, so housing stock is available to house people.
Making sure new homes are well built
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Require a greater share of medium- and high-density development, working with all levels of government for a better mix of genuinely affordable homes.
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Improve building codes for safety and quality, reducing emissions and saving owners costly repairs.
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Better master planning that accounts for biodiversity and heritage, along with schools, hospitals, public transport and parking.
Below you'll find the work I've been doing on housing — in Parliament, in the media, and here in Bradfield.