The Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) has released the Addressing the Housing Crisis: Unlocking Local Government’s Contribution report.
The report, completed by Equity Economics, highlights opportunities and policy reforms for councils to play a more effective role in accelerating Australia’s housing supply.
In particular, the research shows there’s a $19.4 billion gap in the funding councils receive to deliver the enabling infrastructure necessary for 1.2 million new, well-located homes. This is beyond local governments’ capacity to fund, and will require better, more sustainable partnerships with all levels of government.
The Equity Economics report was informed by a survey of approximately 130 councils across Australia, which showed that 80 per cent of local governments can’t cover trunk infrastructure expenses. Only five per cent of respondents have current annual revenues that cover total annual expenses for trunk infrastructure.
It also showed that 40 per cent of local governments have cut back on new infrastructure developments because of inadequate trunk infrastructure funding.
To unlock local government’s contribution to the housing crisis, the report recommends that:
- National housing agreements and decision-making processes provide for full involvement of local government representatives as parties, including at National Cabinet and the National Housing and Homelessness Ministerial Council
- Local government is engaged in ongoing formal partnership arrangements with state and territory governments on state planning and land management
- Federal, state and territory governments work with local government to identify more reliable revenue streams – paid directly to local governments – to close the minimum $5.7 billion infrastructure gap
- Responses to the challenge of a lack of commercially viable housing, particularly in rural and regional areas, be developed by government in partnership with communities and developers
- Governments work together to progress the challenging reforms that tackle the perverse incentives in many areas of housing policy, that produce results like land banking and unoccupied housing
Image: Henk Vrieselaar/shutterstock.com
