How do we solve our housing crisis without losing the unique character that makes Curtin feel like home? - September 2024

How do we solve our housing crisis without losing the unique character that makes Curtin feel like home?

WA – like the rest of Australia – is in the grip of a housing crisis. Here in Curtin, we want to protect what makes our suburbs special, but we also want our kids and grandkids to be able to buy their own place one day and - hopefully - live near us.

Over the last 20 years, policies from both major parties have driven house prices up from four to eight times the average income. Australia now has the second-most expensive housing on earth.

As a result, our young people are living with their parents for longer, delaying life decisions, taking out huge mortgages, seeking support from the ‘bank of Mum & Dad’ or renting long term.

Two thirds of Australian households are owned, and let’s face it, no-one complains when the value of their home increases, so successive governments have kept creating policies that increase the value of housing, throwing fuel on the fire.

We’ve got tax incentives that favour investors over home buyers, we’re building far less social housing, and we keep giving out home buyers’ grants.

We know we need more density, but how do we make this happen without losing what makes Curtin special? In Curtin, we currently have 42,000 houses, 17,000 semis and 16,000 flats. We need more medium and high-density housing, but the key is to make sure these developments are sustainable, liveable and welcomed by the neighbours.

After extensive community consultation, I recently made a Curtin Submission to the National Urban Policy, which set out recommendations on areas including respecting our suburbs, housing diversity, green space and tree canopy, transport, climate & environmental impacts and better coordination between all levels of government.

People are consistently telling me they’re concerned over the lack of community consultation in planning processes, with many projects fitting poorly into their surrounding neighbourhoods.

We need to build housing so young people can aspire to own a home. To do this, communities must be involved in planning decisions. Infill can strengthen and enhance neighbourhoods, but only if it's thoughtfully and carefully executed.