Housing 36 Million: Overview : SBS Insight

Overview

How will Australia’s growing population put pressure on housing availability and house prices?

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The Federal Government’s Intergenerational Report says our population will increase 65% to almost 36 million people by 2050.

From those numbers, Melbourne and Sydney may have to find homes for 7 million people. Brisbane would double its population by 2050.

Australia already suffers from a housing shortage with the government's National Housing Supply Council estimating a shortfall of more than 200,000 dwellings by 2013. Property developers say this gap will continue to drive up house prices. Their answer? More land releases.

But some urban planners say expanding the city fringes is unsustainable and that Australians must change the way we live to cope with a higher population.

They say medium and high density living is the future - but are Australians ready for it?

Meet the Guests

Paul Lucas

Paul Lucas is the Deputy Premier of Queensland and also holds the health portfolio. Paul was Minister for Infrastructure and Planning until March last year. The Queensland government recently released the South East Queensland Regional plan, projecting an extra 1.6 million people for the region in the next 20 years. To house the growing population, the government estimates the area needs an extra 750,000 dwellings. Under the plan, all new housing developments will have to be equally split between existing suburbs and new sites.

Brendan Gleeson

Brendan Gleeson is a Professor of Urban Policy at Griffith University. As a leading commentator on urban issues in Australia, Professor Gleeson believes that the Federal Government's projection for a population of 35 million by 2050 will only be possible if we change the way we live. Professor Gleeson was recently appointed to a high level advisory panel on population growth by Queensland Premier Anna Bligh.

Yvette Synot

A mother of two from Geelong, Yvette is unhappy with a development of apartments and townhouses that will add more than 200 people to her neighbourhood. Under legislation by the Victorian Government, the development - which includes 30 social housing apartments - by-passed local council planning approval and community consultation because it was part of the Federal Government's stimulus package for social housing.

Aaron Gadiel

Aaron is the CEO of the Urban Taskforce, a lobby group that represents Australia's major property developers. His group believes the housing affordability crisis is caused in part by state government's reluctance to release new land and the various charges and levies put on blocks of land.