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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.

A government-sponsored bank won’t help social housing
Michael PotterApril 28, 2017Ideas@TheCentre

Just over 400,000 Australian households live in social housing, comprised mainly of public and community...

Reforming Social Housing: financing and tenant autonomy
Michael PotterApril 27, 2017RR25

Around 400,000 Australians live in social housing, which includes public and community housing. This sector...

Why we can’t be sure if we’re in a housing price bubble
Michael PotterJanuary 11, 2017Business Insider

House prices are out of control in some Australian capitals. And now comes a proposal...

Empty homes tax — another useless Canadian import?
Michael PotterDecember 9, 2016Ideas@TheCentre

The latest idea to fix high housing costs is a tax on empty homes, which...

How to play the man not the ball: negative gearing edition
Michael PotterMay 27, 2016Ideas@TheCentre

Negative gearing has yet again been splashed in the media this week. On Tuesday, a...

Negative gearing debate off track
Michael PotterMay 11, 2016The Australian

The Reserve Bank is a cautious organisation and averse to fuelling speculation. So it is...

Growth that Builds: Beyond the immigration blame game 
Marian L. TupyMarch 5, 2026PP63
This paper argues that Australia’s housing crisis is primarily a supply failure, not simply a...
Reform of Heritage Legislation
Peter TulipFebruary 26, 2026PP62

Introduction Several states have recently overhauled their planning legislation. However, the flaws in their heritage...

An economic walk on the supply side
Michael StutchburyOctober 16, 2025OP208

This is an edited version of Michael Stutchbury’s keynote address to the 2025 Freedom to...

Addressing Australia’s Productivity Problem. CORE Blueprint to Unshackle Productivity
Jim CoxAugust 14, 2025AP86

Introduction There is no one action that will lift Australia’s dwindling productivity growth; it is...

hurdles
Economic challenges ahead for the government
Robert Carling, Gene Tunny, Peter TulipJune 19, 2025IA153

The re-elected federal government faces a long list of economic challenges, some of them created...

Super for Housing
Matthew Taylor, Peter TulipMarch 13, 2025RR50

  1. Summary and Introduction This paper discusses a proposal that home buyers be enabled...

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...
Rental and Housing Affordability. Submission to the Victorian Legislative Council’s Legal and Social Issues Committee
Peter TulipJuly 17, 2023

We need to relax zoning restrictions to allow more housing. At a society level, this...

The Need for Reform of Land Use Policy: Submission to the Productivity Commission
Peter TulipMarch 23, 2022

This submission focuses strongly on the housing affordability aspect of Australia’s productivity. Submission to the...

Submission to the Inquiry into Housing Affordability and Supply in Australia
Peter TulipSeptember 13, 2021

Submission to the government review into housing affordability in Australia. Housing in Australia is too...

Submission to IPART Review of Social and Affordable Housing Rent Models
Michael PotterMay 15, 2017CIS Submission

In April, IPART released a draft report into models for setting social and affordable housing...

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