Housing News Digest
Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
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Archive
What needs to be done to fix the tax system?
Shane Wright and Jennifer Duke The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Some of Australia’s top economists and policy experts are calling for higher taxes on capital gains, the introduction of death duties and a hike in GST as part of a major reform to help the federal budget, strengthen the economy and cut taxes on ordinary workers. ... In the past month, both the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the International Monetary Fund joined the chorus urging wide-ranging reform of the tax system. ... Ken Henry has a swathe of improvements he wants to see implemented quickly but near the top is a total overhaul of how tax is charged on returns from rent, interest and capital gains. He proposes a dual income tax system, also known as a Nordic tax system or Schedular system, which not only taxes earned income at progressive rates as it does currently but also levies a consistent tax on other earnings. This would help capture lightly taxed property gains and other forms of wealth currently contributing to rising inequality. “I think that there is considerable appetite [for] that now,” he says. ... [Saul Eslake says] “In addition ... our tax system is so riddled with loopholes that many people who should be paying the top tax rate don’t actually pay it,” he says. “And in my view, almost all these loopholes should be cut out.” This includes negative gearing, capital gains tax discounts, franking credits and what he considers to be the excessively generous tax treatment of superannuation assets, all of which can allow the legal minimisation of tax. You might also check Shane Wright's article at: [https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/it-s-time-to-have-another-conversation-about-tax-reform-or-the-goose-is-cooked-20211004-p58x4w.html]
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/what-needs-to-be-done-to…
# Hot topic Australia, Landlords and agents, Tax.Melbourne faces a stark choice – liveability or alienation
Duncan Fine The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)I’m no architect. But neither was Winston Churchill who famously said, “we shape our buildings and afterwards our buildings shape us”. Architecture, unlike, say, painting or theatre, is unique; it’s the art form that every person has to walk through and live in every day. ... Ordinary citizens get fobbed off with the usual box-ticking community consultation when there should be deep engagement putting the needs of the community past, present and future equal to the short-term profit motive of developers. Because bad planning affects every part of our lives. It leads directly to greater rates of depression, whilst poor design of new suburbs leads to childhood obesity – no safe place to walk or cycle and no public transport means everyone simply has to drive.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/melbourne-faces-a-stark…
# Australia, Health, Planning and development.Renters on low incomes face a policy black hole: homes for social rent are the answer
Joseph Elliott and Rachelle Earwaker (No paywall)From the United Kingdom ... The Government must increase the supply of homes for social rent to unlock the grip of poverty in the private rented sector. Joseph Rowntree Foundation's latest analysis shows the large number of households on low incomes paying rents they cannot afford in the private rented sector. It provides new analysis on the depth and geographical spread of this problem and examines the Government’s policy response, which is not currently succeeding either in making renting more affordable or in making homeownership accessible to this group.(Joseph Rowntree Foundation)
https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/renters-low-incomes-face-policy-bl…
# International, Public and community housing, Rent, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.New AHURI Chair sets eyes on property market future
Tamra Carr (No paywall)Property veteran Jennifer Cunich has claimed top spot at the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) on the back of more than 30 years’ experience in the business and homebuying sectors. ... Ms Cunich has developed a well-rounded working portfolio in housing and planning, spending roughly two decades working for the Property Council of Australia to develop policy and review regulations with state and local governments. (The West Australian)
https://thewest.com.au/lifestyle/real-estate/new-ahuri-chair-set…
# Research alert Australia, Housing market, Planning and development.Four in 10 new apartment buildings have major defects: NSW Building Commissioner
Tawar Razaghi Domain (No paywall)New research reveals the most common types of defects, owners' chances of getting them fixed, and the chance of being able to recover the cost of fixing any problems.
https://www.domain.com.au/news/four-in-10-new-apartment-building…
# NSW, Strata, Housing market, Minimum habitability standards.Councils urge joint approach to tackle housing crisis in regions
Matt O'Sullivan The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Councils say a joint approach by all levels of government and more funding for social housing and infrastructure are needed to tackle a growing housing crisis in regional areas of NSW. The peak body for councils has highlighted a report by a state government taskforce into regional housing, arguing it shows the problem is much more complex and requires smart solutions and investment rather than blame games.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/councils-urge-joint-approach…
# NSW, Public and community housing, Housing market, Local Government, Regional NSW, State Government.China’s housing market rattles buyers
The New York Times (No paywall)Evergrande Group’s financial troubles, and the government policies that helped push it to the brink of collapse, have threatened an important economic driver: home sales. For years, homes have been the main savings vehicle for Chinese families. Nearly three-quarters of household wealth in China is tied to property and real estate has grown to provide more than a quarter of the country’s economic growth by some estimates. (Morning Briefing)
https://messaging-custom-newsletters.nytimes.com/template/oakv2?…
# International, Home ownership, Housing market.As home prices soar beyond reach, we have a government inquiry almost designed not to tell us why
Peter Martin The Conversation (No paywall)Never has an inquiry into the skyrocketing price of homes been more urgent. Rarely has one been as insultingly ill-suited as the one under way right now. ... Instead, we have been given an inquiry into affordability in name only. Seriously. The parliamentary inquiry commissioned by the treasurer in July and chaired by backbencher Jason Falinski is called an inquiry into affordability and supply, but the word “affordability” appears in none of its three terms of reference.
https://theconversation.com/as-home-prices-soar-beyond-reach-we-…
# Australia, Affordable housing, Federal Government, Home ownership, Housing affordability, Housing market.