In its submission to Treasury’s employment white paper, the Housing Industry Association (HIA)warned the federal government that just 185,000 homes are expected to be built annually in 2024 and 2025.
This will leave the Albanese Government well short of its target of one million new homes being built nationwide in five years, given that it would require 200,000 new homes to be built each year.
In turn, the HIA warned that the rental crisis will worsen as the supply of homes runs well short of immigration-fuelled demand.
The Real Estate Institute of Australia likewise warned in its submission that the amount of housing Australia needed to build was dramatically higher than existing commitments.
Meanwhile, the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation’s (NHFIC) ‘State of the Nation Housing 2022-23’ report forecast that net new housing supply would only increase by 141,000 homes per year in the five years to 2027.
In turn, NHFIC warned that housing shortages will worsen given net overseas migration has ballooned to record levels.
The reality of the situation is that Labor’s “one million” homes promise, even if it was achievable, was nothing special given 1,046,000 homes were completed in the five years leading up to the pandemic.
Labor’s promise is even more inadequate given the Albanese Government has embarked on the biggest immigration program in this nation’s history via:
- Raising the permanent non-humanitarian migrant intake by 30,000 to a record high 195,000 a year;
- Accelerating temporary migration by:
- Expanding work rights for international students via:
- Expanding the number of hours international students can work while studying; and
- Extending the length of post-study work visas by two years.
- Committing $42 million and 500 staff to clear the backlog of visas waiting approval.
- Expanding work rights for international students via:
Already, Labor’s mass immigration policy saw nearly 400,000 net overseas migrants arrive in Australia in 2022 (a record high), which drove the nation’s population up by nearly 500,000 people (also a record high):
All indicators are pointing to an even larger influx of migrants in 2023, with numbers to remain historically high going forward.
Thus, not only is Labor’s “one million” homes pledged pathetically insufficient, but also unlikely to be met.
If Labor was genuinely concerned about housing shortages, it would not undertake the largest immigration program in this country’s history.
As it stands, Australia’s housing crisis will only worsen under Anthony Albanese rather than improve.
