Australia's housing system is broken. We currently build nearly half as many homes per person as we did post World War II, regulation between different levels of government is dysfunctional and our country is woefully lacking in the skilled tradespeople needed to meet our housing demand.
That blunt assessment came from federal Housing Minister Clare O'Neil herself during the week. The minister used a National Press Club speech to paint a stark picture of the challenges of dealing with our wicked housing dilemma.
"Governments - Labor and Liberal - have not done enough to fairly house Australians, for decades. In their retreat, there was, I believe, a hope that a functional private housing market would work for all. But that is not reality," Ms O'Neil said.
