The solution to our housing crisis is deceptively simple – we need to build more houses

Abstract

Times are tough. People are having trouble finding secure work, the housing crisis is reaching new heights and the realities of climate change are starting to be felt across the country. Most concerningly, trust in our political system is at an all-time low, as voters feel increasingly disconnected and let down by the people who are supposed to give them hope.

We need to look back to the Great Depression to find a time when the Australian public faced challenges of this scale – and also to find policy solutions that have the potential to inspire hope and trust in our system once more.

There is one important idea that might hold the key to solving our current problems: the nation-building project.

We often throw the term around when discussing the big infrastructure investments. But it is not just infrastructure spending that defines a nation-building project. While these large-scale developments are essential, the other two criteria that fall under this category are job creation and a solution to a policy problem.