Set housing in context of population policy

June 18, 2026

The authors rightly note that the energy performance of Australian housing is notoriously poor and that housing “that is costly to heat or cool, or that makes its inhabitants sick, is not affordable housing.” There doesn’t seem to be any requirement anywhere, for instance that homes are sited properly on the block, namely, with some windows at least having north-facing orientation.

The gap between overall supply and demand, however, appears to be the overarching problem. Increasing supply is generally seen as the solution as though demand cannot be managed. And yet it can. It’s mostly a matter of population growth, be it from natural increase or net overseas migration. We probably don’t need to address natural increase as fertility is below replacement. We do need to address migration, however, and bring it down below 100,000 from the current 300,000 or so, or to levels of the 1990s.

Just as immigration policy needs to be set within broader population policy, so too does housing policy. If you know how many more people will be coming into the country in any one year, then you can appropriate new land and funds accordingly, as well as providing for the existing homeless.