The Yes In My Backyard movement is lobbying for denser cities and more housing in places people want to work and live and YIMBYs want these homes built yesterday. But the NIMBYs haven’t given up yet.
A small gathering of homeowners and politicians in Sydney’s Double Bay is just one of the many local fronts of resistance to the Albanese government’s plan to deliver 1.2 million homes across the country by June 2029. The prime minister recently conceded it is “too hard” to build housing in Australia and promised to cut red tape to help boost supply. While many are saying no to development in their suburbs, there is a growing appetite for “housing abundance” helped by Australia’s blossoming Yes In My Backyard (YIMBY) movement. YIMBYs want denser cities, they want more housing in places people want to work and live, and they want them built yesterday.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil says her focus is “absolutely on building more homes”.
“It’s been the defining motivation of our Labor government for the last three years — not because of a New York Times bestseller — but because we’re working to correct a 40-year failure of governments to build enough of them,” she tells the ABC.
