{"id":48320,"date":"2025-05-01T04:19:12","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T08:19:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/as-australia-votes-a-housing-affordability-crisis-is-top-of-voters-minds\/01\/05\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-05-01T04:19:12","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T08:19:12","slug":"as-australia-votes-a-housing-affordability-crisis-is-top-of-voters-minds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/as-australia-votes-a-housing-affordability-crisis-is-top-of-voters-minds\/01\/05\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"As Australia votes, a housing affordability crisis is top of voters\u2019 minds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\n<\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong>Sydney, Australia \u2013 <\/strong>When Mary votes in Australia\u2019s national elections on Saturday, the country\u2019s chronic shortage of affordable housing will be at the top of her mind.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">For two years, the 59-year-old former postal worker has been staying in short-term accommodations in regional New South Wales along with her daughter and her dog.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Mary receives income from a fortnightly old age pension of 1051.30 Australian dollars (US$673) and seasonal hospitality and retail jobs, but she cannot afford the median rent on a house or apartment of 560 dollars (US$360) a week.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Mary, who asked to be referred to by her first name, tried applying for social housing but was told the waiting list was \u201cvery, very long\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cOnce the money we had went on rent, and with no work, we landed here,\u201d\u00a0Mary told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cNow I have to pay storage to keep our lives in storage or lose everything. A situation I never envisioned I would ever find myself in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Mary intends to vote for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese\u2019s centre-left Labor Party, which is favoured to return to power, though she is not enthusiastic about any of the main parties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI will probably vote Labor, although neither party is doing enough. I never vote Coalition,\u201d she told Al Jazeera, referring to Peter Dutton\u2019s conservative Liberal Party-National Party Coalition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI find them non-transparent and rooted in fluffing up their own bank balances and those of their elitist mates at the expense of those who pay their taxes, which so many politicians dodge.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>Australia\u2019s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (L) talks with Australia\u2019s Opposition Leader Peter Dutton at the Wishing Tree at Parliament House in Canberra, on November 6, 2024 [Tracey Nearmy\/AFP]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Australia\u2019s property and rental prices are among the top issues in an election race that has been dominated by concerns over the rising cost of living.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Australia, where property is a national obsession, is home to some of the highest house prices on the planet.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Sydney, the country\u2019s largest city, ranks as the second-least affordable market out of 94 urban centres worldwide, according to the most recent Demographia International Housing Affordability survey, with a median price-to-income ratio of 13.8.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Research by property consultancy PropTrack has found that a household in Sydney needs to earn about 280,000 Australian dollars a year (US$180,000) to afford the median house price of 1.4 million Australian dollars (US$0.9m).<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Both Labor and the Coalition have unveiled a number of policy proposals to improve housing affordability, although campaigners say neither appears prepared to tackle the root causes of the problem.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Labor has pledged to build 100,000 homes for first-time buyers and increase financial support, while the Liberals have promised to train more construction apprentices, invest in essential infrastructure, and allow younger Australians to withdraw their pensions early to pay for their housing deposit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Both parties have also taken aim at foreign buyers and immigration, with Albanese earlier this year announcing a two-year ban on non-citizens buying existing homes.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Economists have pointed to a lack of supply as the core drive of the housing crisis.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Australia had the lowest housing stock per capita in the developed world at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with approximately 400 houses per 1000 people, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">While the supply of housing has improved somewhat since then, it has been far outstripped by demand driven by record inward migration.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Australia\u2019s population grew\u00a02.1 percent in 2024, even as the country\u2019s birthrate sank to a 17-year low.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The construction of social housing, in particular, has fallen by the wayside.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">In 2023, there were 169,000 households on a waiting list for public housing, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Yumi Lee, chief executive at Older Women\u2019s Network NSW, said many older women in particular find it harder to secure housing due to having smaller pensions compared with their male peers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">A 2021 KPMG report found women aged 60-64 had 57,207 Australian dollars (US$36,608) less in their pension pot than men, on average.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cWe are called the so-called lucky country, but so many older women are having to choose between food, medicine or rent, and it\u2019s not a matter of luck, it\u2019s a matter of neglect,\u201d Lee told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Kris, a 71-year-old pensioner in the Blue Mountains, near Sydney, said she nearly became homeless last year after being forced to sell the family home following her divorce.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI hear story after story of these sorts of things happening,\u201d Kris, who asked to use a pseudonym, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Experts say a range of factors have aggravated the housing shortage, including NIMBYism and a lack of tradesmen.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">More controversially, housing advocates have directed blame towards negative gearing, a type of tax relief that allows landlords to write off losses incurred from their investment property.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img alt=\"fffr\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"770\" height=\"562\" decoding=\"async\" data-nimg=\"1\" class=\"rounded-lg\" style=\"color:transparent\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/snSZ55na8VlJdL4nzXqcjw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTcwMQ--\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/al_jazeera_289\/36ea9483559da788f41543d12f0c9994\"\/><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-3 right-3 size-10 md:size-[50px] lg:inset-0 lg:size-full lg:bg-transparent\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-0 right-0 rounded-full bg-white p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-white\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg viewbox=\"0 0 22 22\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"size-4 lg:size-6\" width=\"22\" height=\"22\"><path d=\"M12.372.92c0-.506.41-.916.915-.916L21 0l-.004 7.712a.917.917 0 0 1-1.832 0V3.183l-6.827 6.828-1.349-1.348 6.828-6.828h-4.529a.915.915 0 0 1-.915-.915M1.835 17.816l6.828-6.828 1.349 1.349-6.829 6.827h4.529a.915.915 0 0 1 0 1.831L0 21l.004-7.713a.916.916 0 0 1 1.831 0z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed inset-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-white hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p>New high-rise buildings and an old apartment block are seen in Casula in the outer suburbs of Sydney, Australia, on February 25, 2025 [Kirsty Needham\/Reuters]<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">After pledging to scale back negative gearing, Labor ditched the proposals during the 2022 election after it suffered two consecutive election defeats.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Maiy Azize, the national spokesperson for the pressure group Everybody\u2019s Home, said neither of the major parties seemed willing to tackle the issue.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cThis is a crisis that took decades to create, and it\u2019s going to take decades to fix, but we do need someone to step up and take the first steps,\u201d Azize told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cIf a party was inclined to start a program to really boost social housing and to do that tax reform, they could make a big impact really quickly, but it is something that\u2019s gonna take time to fix,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Bernie Barrett, the acting chief executive of Better Renting,\u00a0said a positive step forward would be for the federal and state governments to develop nationally consistent rental laws.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cAround 30 percent of Australians rent their home, and even though we\u2019re such a large demographic, our issues have largely been ignored by politicians and policymakers,\u201d Barrett, whose organisation has rated Labor as \u201cslow\u201d and the Liberals as \u201cgetting worse\u201d for progress on rental policies, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Andrea Leong, a 38-year-old renter and microbiologist living in Albanese\u2019s New South Wales electorate of Gryandler, said she feels neglected by both major parties.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cIn Australia, we have been given this idea that owning a home is the Australian dream. Renting your home is seen as an unfortunate or a temporary situation,\u201d Leong told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">\u201cI want the prime minister and all sides of politics to recognise that renting is a legitimate way of living.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/news\/australia-votes-housing-affordability-crisis-071904409.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sydney, Australia &ndash; When Mary votes in Australia&rsquo;s national elections on Saturday, the country&rsquo;s chronic shortage of affordable housing will be at<br \/><button class=\"read-more\"><a href=\"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/as-australia-votes-a-housing-affordability-crisis-is-top-of-voters-minds\/01\/05\/2025\/\">Read More &rsaquo;<\/a><\/button><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48321,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/3SbuNmor8dHAQoSQ6rmuJw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD04MDA-\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/al_jazeera_289\/a5bf1d358a7930083adbf96dd522f753","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48320"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48320\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}