Housing Affordability Won’t Fix Itself - February 2025
When I’m out doorknocking, one message I keep hearing loud and clear is this: people are really worried about housing affordability.
Young people are struggling to rent a home - let alone buy one - and homeowners are anxious that their children and grandchildren will never be able to afford one.
It’s taken 20 years of the wrong policies from both major parties to get us here. Housing is now half as affordable as it once was. So how do we fix this?
What the Major Parties Won’t Tell You
For decades, successive governments have backed policies that favour homeowners, leaving younger generations locked out of the market. The gap between those who own and those who can’t even get a foot in the door keeps widening.
It’s a grim reality. At UWA O-Day last week, students told me they feel like they’ll never own a home. These are our future doctors, teachers, and engineers—and they’ve already lost hope. That’s not good enough.
Real Solutions
Tackling our housing crisis needs real solutions - not just election slogans and political spin. We need to see “housing” as a home, not just an investment product.
I’ve been working with our community and experts to develop the Curtin Housing Policy, which sets out practical, evidence-based ways to make housing more accessible and fairer. Here are some of them.
Let's Increase Supply
More social and affordable housing that keeps pace with demand.
Sustainable infill development – Community consultation is key to ensuring density is done well.
Encourage smaller homes and make better use of vacant homes.
Replace stamp duty with land tax to make it easier for people to downsize when their households change.
Making Housing Fairer
Improve renter security – end ‘no-grounds’ evictions.
Reform negative gearing & capital gains tax – to help shift more renters into home ownership.
Increase Commonwealth Rent Assistance to keep pace with rising rentals and revive the National Rental Affordability Scheme to improve access to affordable housing.
Let’s Get Smart
Housing affordability won’t fix itself. We need smarter policies, not short-term political fixes, to give young people a real shot at owning or renting a home.
Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this by email, attending my events or doing the survey. In the next term, I will keep pushing for bold action to make it happen.
Read the full Curtin Housing Policy.
