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As housing costs skyrocket, governments are loosening the purse strings in a frenzied effort to get more houses built as quickly as possible. If we can just get more homes on the market to meet surging demand, housing prices will go down, right?
That’s the hope underpinning a suite of reforms announced yesterday by Victoria’s Andrews government, after the Albanese government unveiled measures on Monday also aimed at turbocharging housing supply.
While both governments are claiming their initiatives will go a long way towards overcoming the housing shortage crisis, in separate pieces published by The Conversation today, two academics have sounded notes of caution.
Edith Cowan University supply chain expert Flavio Macau points out that labour, building material and land are still in short supply.
As many people trying to build or do a reno know from bitter experience, delays are already common as the construction industry grapples with soaring energy costs, pandemic-induced shortages, restrictions on timber imports from Russia and skills gaps.
So is Australia ready for this housing construction boom fuelled by all this government spending? “Supply chain constraints say no,” Macau writes.
RMIT economist David Hayward says while the Victorian government’s goal is to build 800,000 new dwellings, only 250,000 of those will come from this plan, leaving it unclear how the others will be provided.
Hayward says: “The housing statement sets bold targets, but has no clear means to achieve them. It offers a lot of individual initiatives, but in the end can be criticised for offering no compelling vision.’’
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Margaret Easterbrook
Business Editor
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Flavio Macau, Edith Cowan University; Deepa Bannigidadmath, Edith Cowan University
Is Australia ready for a house construction boom? Supply chain constraints say no.
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David Hayward, RMIT University
The thinking behind the state government’s ambitious housing plan is simple - build more homes and they’ll be more affordable.
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Stuti Bhatnagar, Australian National University
India has long accused Canada of giving safe haven to separatists seeking a Sikh homeland in Punjab state – an accusation the Trudeau government denies.
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Polly Rippon, University of Sheffield
An expert on media law explains how newspapers avoid defamation when investigating a story.
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Ellie Tomsett, Birmingham City University
I’ve researched women’s experience of the UK comedy circuit for ten years – this is what I’ve learned.
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Kayleen Manwaring, UNSW Sydney
One of the first ‘spam’ messages on record was sent in 1854.
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Marilynne N Kirshbaum, Charles Darwin University
There’s a lot to learn, understand and organise when you receive a cancer diagnosis. But you don’t need to do it all at once.
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Benjamin Nickl, University of Sydney; Christopher John Muller, Macquarie University
Laughter is one of the most ubiquitous and pleasurable things humans do, which is why companies online want to know what we find funny.
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Julia Talbot-Jones, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington; Yigit Saglam, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington
Despite its importance, water management has been largely absent from the election campaign. But using trading markets to improve freshwater quality in smaller catchments deserves wider debate.
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Yvette Grant, The University of Melbourne
In their 60-year history, this will be The Australian Ballet’s fifth take on Swan Lake. It has opened in Melbourne before touring nationally.
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Politics + Society
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Patrick Sullivan, University of Notre Dame Australia; Kathryn Thorburn, University of Notre Dame Australia
One interviewee told us: ‘Today our lives are being governed by a bureaucrat who hasn’t seen a Blackfella in their life or haven’t spoken to one.’
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Dominic O'Sullivan, Charles Sturt University
Arguments against including Indigenous cultural perspectives and experiences in public policy have spilled over into prejudice and racism on both sides of the Tasman. That harms democracy.
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Health + Medicine
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Mary Bushell, University of Canberra
Struggling with watery, itchy red eyes and a runny, congested nose? Here are your options for hay fever treatment.
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Science + Technology
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Nora Campbell, UNSW Sydney
New research shows kangaroos may form long-term friendships.
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Magdalena Wajrak, Edith Cowan University
While chlorine plays a role in making your hair appear green, there’s actually another main culprit – copper.
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Environment + Energy
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Bill Gammage, Australian National University
Newcomers in Australia found and took rich pastures made by Aboriginal fire. Without fire, pastures would revert to forest or scrub.
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Arts + Culture
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Kit MacFarlane, University of South Australia
Professional wrestling has a bigger cultural bootprint than many people realise. How is wrestling breaking records and why does it matter?
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Books + Ideas
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Sharon Bickle, University of Southern Queensland
Zadie Smith evokes the complexities of race, class and colonisation in her novel about a scandal that titillated Victorian England.
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