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• Housing

Australia has some of the most expensive housing in the world.  Rising rents and prices are putting reasonable housing out of reach of large sections of Australian society.  The CIS is exploring ways to make housing more affordable, in particular by relaxing planning restrictions.

Fairness and the family home
Simon CowanMay 1, 2016Your Life Choices

The exemption of the family home from the pension means test is one of the...

Negative gearing helps poorer people most
Michael PotterApril 29, 2016ABC The Drum

Should we get rid of tax provisions that provide a greater benefit to the rich...

CGT trumps negative gearing
Robert CarlingApril 29, 2016Ideas@TheCentre

If England was a nation of shopkeepers as Napoleon is said to have asserted, modern...

MEDIA RELEASE: Punitive tax on capital gains will hit growth
Michael PotterMarch 1, 2016

The Labor Party should abandon its plans to impose a supertax on capital gains, according...

Discussion of gearing turns negative
Michael PotterFebruary 29, 2016Business Spectator

The tax discussion table was quite large for a while. But the table is rapidly...

The case against levying CGT on the family home
Robert CarlingJanuary 12, 2016Business Spectator

No tax reform debate would be complete without the appearance of hoary old chestnuts like...

Less Crowded Houses. NZ’s housing policy success and implications for Australia
Stuart DonovanFebruary 11, 2025PP60

Introduction Many Australians are increasingly concerned by deteriorating housing affordability and its implications for socio-economic...

Land Use Restrictions and the Australian Housing Policy Debate
Peter TulipOctober 15, 2024FABIAN SOCIETY
Planning restrictions are a major reason why housing in Australia is so expensive. For example,...
Housing Affordability and Supply Restrictions
Peter TulipFebruary 8, 2024PP55
This paper describes the evidence of large effects of planning restrictions on housing affordability. This...
Housing is becoming a pipe dream for young Australians
Emilie DyeFebruary 6, 2024IA149
Housing affordability remains one of Australia’s clearest — and most frequently cited — examples of...
Housing Targets
Where should we build new housing? Better targets for local councils
Peter TulipMarch 9, 2023AP45
We are not building enough apartments and we are building them in the wrong place....
Does high-rise development damage neighbourhood character?
Peter Tulip, Zachary LaniganApril 29, 2021PP40

Local residents often oppose new high-rise development apartment buildings on the grounds that they would...

How the family home is wrecking the pension
Simon CowanDecember 3, 2015Business Spectator

The Productivity Commission released an excellent report this week on Housing Decisions of Older Australians....

Productivity Commission’s brave call on the family home is right
Simon CowanDecember 2, 2015Australian Financial Review

It’s been clear for some time that the exemption of the family home from the...

Retirement changes focus on the wrong assets, won’t boost incomes
Simon CowanMay 14, 2015Business Spectator

The fundamental paradox of retirement is that retiree living standards depend on stable and secure...

Housing boom? Think again.
Patrick CarvalhoApril 17, 2015Business Spectator

There is much hype on the housing boom led by speculative frenzy bingeing on historically...

Fair and logical to put super into homes
Patrick CarvalhoMarch 12, 2015Australian Financial Review

Joe Hockey’s suggestion of allowing superannuation to be used for buying the first home has...

What the RBA really said about renting versus buying
Stephen KirchnerJuly 25, 2014

A Reserve Bank Research Discussion Paper on whether Australian housing is over-valued attracted considerable media...

Old buildings and the housing crisis with Peter Tulip
Peter TulipMarch 4, 2026

Peter Tulip explains how several states have recently overhauled their planning legislation. However, the flaws...

‘NIMBYism is a cancer’: Bragg outlines housing policy vision with Peter Tulip & Michael Stutchbury
Andrew Bragg, Peter Tulip, Michael StutchburyDecember 12, 2025

Senator Andrew Bragg and economist Peter Tulip join Michael Stutchbury for a wide-ranging conversation on...

The simple solution to FIX the housing crisis | Emilie Dye
Emilie Dye, Randall EvansSeptember 18, 2024

What is behind the housing crisis in Australia and across the world? Research Analyst Emilie...

How to tackle Australia’s housing crisis one state at a time | NSW Treasurer Daniel Mookhey
Simon CowanAugust 29, 2024

Sydney is home to some of the least affordable housing in the world, placing immense...

A million extra homes won’t fix housing affordability!
Maya KuranaJuly 23, 2023
The budget's announcement of one million houses over the next five years will do very...
On Liberty EP96 Is the property bubble bursting?
Eliza Owen, Salvatore BabonesAugust 3, 2022On Liberty
Salvatore Babones returns to discuss the future of housing and rental prices with Eliza Owen...
Submission to Heritage NSW
Peter TulipJuly 18, 2025CIS

This submission argues that NSW’s heritage legislation has serious flaws. In particular, costs of listing...

Submission to Victorian Legislative Council Select Committee Inquiry
Peter TulipMay 5, 2025CIS

Victoria Planning Provisions Amendments VC257, VC267 and VC274: Submission to Victorian Legislative Council Select Committee...

Submission to the Inquiry into financial regulation and home ownership
Peter TulipOctober 15, 2024
Regulation of the financial system is needed to protect depositors and avoid financial crises. However,...
Submission to the Inquiry into the Transport Oriented Development Program
Peter TulipApril 4, 2024
Housing policy in NSW has been failing. It has relied on setting targets for local...
Submission to the Senate Economics References Committee Inquiry into improving consumer experiences, choice, and outcomes in Australia’s retirement system.
Peter TulipFebruary 12, 2024
Allowing first home buyers to borrow from their superannuation would transform superannuation from an obstacle...
The Rental Crisis. Submission to the Senate Community Affairs Committee
Peter TulipAugust 31, 2023

Rents are too high. This leads to homelessness, rental stress, long commutes, overcrowding, and a...

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