Full Story Newsroom edition: is Labor doing enough to solve the housing crisis?
Nov 13, 2025
Join Mike Ticher, the Head of the Guardian newsroom, Patrick Keneally, a political reporting expert, and Josephine Tovey, a national news editor, as they dissect Australia’s escalating housing crisis. The trio highlights the slow government response amidst rising prices and increasing rental stress. They explore the controversial deposit scheme and its implications for buyers, while discussing the urgent need for coherent housing policies. Insights on investor impact, density acceptance, and the challenges of reform paint a vivid picture of the housing landscape.
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Demand Outrunning Supply
- House prices are rising at the fastest rate in nearly four years and supply is not keeping up with targets.
- Policies that boost demand without increasing supply risk pushing prices even higher.
Price-To-Income Gap Is The Root Problem
- The core problem is the house-price-to-income ratio, which rose from ~3–4x to ~8x over two decades.
- Unless wages catch up or prices fall, home ownership will remain out of reach for younger generations.
Universal Schemes Can Hurt The Most Needy
- Expanding demand-side schemes to all incomes can crowd out lower-income buyers who need help most.
- Means-testing previously focused support targeted those who truly struggled to save deposits.