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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.

Not a super idea to make saving for deposits hard
Simon CowanMay 30, 2019The Australian

Much about the recent election ­result came as something of a surprise, but the central...

Solutions to the homelessness crisis are within reach but they are being ignored
Carlos d’AbreraJanuary 23, 2019The Daily Telegraph

There are real answers to the homelessness crisis we are seeing in Sydney’s CBD and...

Saluting the rights and ignoring the risks for the homeless
Carlos d’AbreraDecember 22, 2018QUADRANT

  Lendlease Property has announced that part of the proceeds from the sale of every...

Ending homelessness demands real solutions
Carlos d’AbreraDecember 14, 2018Ideas@TheCentre

It’s more than a year since the infamous Martin Place tent city was dismantled, but...

Homeless require the intervention of real help, not ideology
Carlos d’AbreraDecember 12, 2018The Australian

It’s more than a year since the ­infamous Martin Place tent city was dismantled in...

Seeking a solution to the housing problem
Simon CowanOctober 27, 2018The Sydney Morning Herald

If you’re hearing a distant drumming sound lately, it’s coming from rational economists repeatedly beating...

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...

Welfare review flags significant reforms for public housing
Matthew TaylorJuly 18, 2014

Last year the Australian government commissioned a welfare review to identify improvements that could be...

Improving housing affordability begins at home
Stephen KirchnerJuly 11, 2014

Australia’s capital house prices rose 10% last financial year, with an even stronger rise of...

Scapegoating investors won’t slow up house prices
Stephen KirchnerJuly 10, 2014The Australian Financial Review

Australia’s capital house prices rose 10 per cent last financial year, with an even stronger...

Don’t blame foreigners for rising house prices
Stephen KirchnerMarch 20, 2014The Age

Shoddy tax laws, not Chinese investors, are driving up the prices of new dwellings. Foreign...

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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