cities policy

A report released by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute raises concerns that rising mortgage debt and falling home ownership rates in later life are undermining the role of home ownership in supporting retirees’ financial wellbeing.

Making our biggest cities more efficient, affordable and accessible will raise the living standards of nearly all Australians, but it will also require some compromise.

Cities overseas that have been able to overcome the affordable housing challenges facing urban centres like Melbourne have adopted a coordinated and systemic approach to scaling up solutions that work.

Shared equity models have a dual benefit of making home ownership affordable for people on modest incomes and freeing up scarce social housing for other households in need.

Urban growth has had much less impact on commuting distances and times than media reports would suggest. The explanations include jobs being widely dispersed and residents’ adaptable decision-making.

Every year, our big cities vie for global liveability honours. But as well as differences between the cities, liveability varies widely within them, leaving plenty of work to be done.

ANALYSIS: We need transformation, not transportation, a recent Sydney Rail conference heard. Can a return to the 30-minute city be realised without a shift in how government agencies see themselves?

The Prime Minister has rejected media reports that the Cities portfolio was downgraded in his recent ministerial reshuffle. It had “in reality been promoted”, he said, as the new cross-agency scope brings it into PM&C.