Change is all around us but home ownership remains the Australian dream. We want this for ourselves, our kids, and our grandchildren.
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The laws of supply and demand are the first thing an economics student learns. When demand outstrips supply, prices rise. Nowhere is this dynamic more obvious than it is in the housing market. But it need not be.
For young people, the great Australian dream has become a nightmare as supply is frustrated and prices rise. Those with parental help have a chance, the rest are losing hope and face a lifetime of rent payments.
The reasons for the housing shortage are many - our population is growing, in part fuelled by high levels of immigration. Post-COVID supply chain challenges remain. But the big one is the government red and green tape that is choking land supply.
The latter is driven by placard-waving environmental activists. It is difficult to understand why so many journalists and politicians allow themselves to be led by these people. Surely, they understand that you can't have strong environmental and biodiversity protection without a strong economy. Anyone who has visited a developing country knows what I mean.
Some continue to argue enough land has been re-zoned for housing. But industry leaders know a zoning stamp does not put an end to the plethora of environmental hurdles they face before concrete can be poured. For example, despite the Kings Hill site in Raymond Terrace being rezoned 18 years ago, not one house has been built there. The project has fallen victim to actions taken in the Land & Environment Court where biodiversity laws are being too broadly interpreted. More than 5000 blocks proposed at Kings Hill remain undeveloped and vacant. Yet they are conveniently counted by those claiming we have enough land zoned for housing.
There are emerging signs that governments are finally coming to realise that they need to release more land. But if the NSW government follows the recent statutory review of NSW biodiversity laws, young families can hold little hope of becoming homeowners. The review failed to recognise the NSW Biodiversity and Conservation Act - or land court interpretation of it - is fast becoming the biggest barrier to home ownership in our state.
It appears the review has been captured by a green movement that has weaponised biodiversity and koala populations. Yet the biggest threat to koalas and biodiversity is not housing, it's fire. Australia has more national parks than anywhere else in the world. So many they can't possibly be properly managed. They are weed-infested undergrowth fuel loads that are out of control. They are a disaster waiting to happen.
Despite this, green activists want to lock-up even more land. The McCloy Group dedicated a massive area of land as part of our Medowie development. Today, it sits there overgrown and unmanaged, another fire hazard and an eyesore.
Australia has a very low population density. We have plenty of land. But the great Australian dream remains just that due to activist-driven environmental overreach.
Meanwhile, governments are further dashing the hopes and aspirations of families and farmers alike by commandeering land for huge solar and wind energy projects in NSW regional areas. By contrast, urban areas comprise only about 2.5 per cent of the state.
Harsh environmental regulations and green energy projects alike are being driven largely by city-based activists. But the cost of each will be borne by regional residents. That's unfair.
Biodiversity is now given higher priority than the basic need for housing and shelter. The consequence of this imbalance is a steep increase in homelessness and plummeting rates of home ownership. The Australian dream of home ownership is now a nightmare.
This nightmare can only be fixed by planners and politicians who created it.
