Economic and Finance Committee: Inquiry into South Australian Housing Affordability

Mr HUGHES (Giles) (11:50): I move:

That the seventh report of the committee, entitled Inquiry into South Australian Housing Affordability, be noted.

Beginning in 2022, an inquiry was established to inquire into housing availability in South Australia. The committee resolved to specifically investigate:

1. the decreasing availability of affordable housing for both purchase and rental;

2. housing needs relative to the demand from marginalised groups, including those with low income, serious health and disability challenges, and older people—especially older women—with limited private resources;

3. different housing options required by and suitable for marginalised groups in our community;

4. the community expectation that every South Australian should have reasonable access to housing that meets their needs;

5. key market barriers—including land, labour and materials—that are limiting the delivery of social and affordable housing even where funding is available;

6. the necessary policy settings, at all levels of government, required to deliver suitable housing outcomes;

7. the economic impacts arising from a lack of social and affordable housing, including barriers to economic development in specific locations, and the additional costs on other sectors including but not limited to health, disability, justice and emergency relief;

8. innovations in housing that can lower costs, expedite new supply, and deliver a greater diversity of housing options to meet current and emerging trends;

9. leveraging of government assets by all levels of government to maximise the delivery of additional housing;

10. partnerships with social housing providers and the private market to deliver additional social and affordable housing;

11. new approaches to financing and tenure options that increase supply and security of tenure; and

12. any other matter that can deliver better housing outcomes for South Australians.

Clearly, they are very broad terms of reference. Clearly, there is no magic wand response to the crisis that we now face not just in this state but nationally—a crisis that has probably been developing over a period of two decades. I could go into the reasons why I think we are in this situation, but I might leave that for another occasion.

The inquiry received 36 submissions, and over the life of the inquiry the committee heard from over 20 witnesses representing government agencies, organisations and stakeholders. Over three years, this inquiry investigated the issues surrounding the availability of housing in South Australia. Since the beginning of the inquiry, there have been significant changes in the socio-economic landscape in Australia, with a rise in the cost of living, increases in inflation and upwards growth in the price of housing for both property purchase and rental. There have also been legislative changes and policy announcements concerning the housing market at both state and commonwealth levels.

The committee heard from a variety of stakeholders and interested parties on a complex matter that needs to be addressed by all levels of government: commonwealth, state and councils. The committee heard that the availability of housing, particularly affordable housing, has decreased in recent years. There were not enough houses to buy coming onto the market, and of those that did come onto the market there was less time before they were sold. Meanwhile, the median house price has increased significantly, with less affordable housing being available.

The rental market across the state has become tighter, with the committee hearing that rental costs have risen sharply and rental properties considered affordable have decreased. This was exacerbated by a lack of suitable properties, with some areas, such as the City of Adelaide, having a less than 1 per cent vacancy rate for rentals.

The lack of available and affordable housing has a significant impact on people's wellbeing, as well as pushing people into precarious forms of housing and the risk of homelessness. This can lead to more people requiring assistance from the government and community services, not to mention the incredibly serious impact on the individuals concerned.

The lack of affordable housing has a particular impact on a number of marginalised groups of people. The committee heard that there are different housing needs and support structures required for people within marginalised groups, and that there was not a one-size-fits-all solution to those needs. People often fall within overlapping and intersecting marginalised groups with complex needs in regard to housing, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, people with disabilities, older people, younger people, domestic and family violence victims, people experiencing homelessness, and people released from prison.

The committee was made aware of several barriers to the delivery of housing. There were barriers to building houses, including issues concerning the supply of suitable land. It is good to see the releases and infrastructure investment that are now taking place, so the supply of land is being addressed, but obviously there is a long way to go. The shortage of labour and materials is an issue that lengthens building project timelines.

There are also financial barriers for those looking to buy property, such as increased deposit and loan requirements from financial institutions, along with other levies and charges concerning stamp duty and infrastructure costs passed on to buyers. Additionally, there are regulatory barriers, such as zoning and building regulations, and barriers related to the infrastructure requirements needed for housing projects.

The committee also heard of the barriers faced by those in regional and rural areas of the state, including the distance from Adelaide, population size, infrastructure demands and a whole raft of issues around critical mass and availability of building companies. There are some initiatives that are being taken and there is a series of pilot programs, but there is a long way to go, especially in some communities. When we came out to Australia my family was a beneficiary of housing tightly linked to industry policy, and that is one of the issues in some of our regional communities where the jobs are available but the housing might well not be.

I think—and I have written to the minister—that we need a whole rethink of housing policy, but I recognise that there is a strong commonwealth element to this as well. I will not go on about the incredibly destructive impact during the Howard period of the commonwealth-state housing agreements and the changes that were introduced at that stage that stripped billions of dollars out of public housing. It is one of the contributing factors to the crisis that we face today.

In this nation, at one time something like 12 to 13 per cent of the investment in new housing used to be in public housing. That is probably now less than 2 per cent, so it is a massive change that has had a whole series of consequences because the market-based solutions were not able to fill that gap. This requires a fundamental rethink about where we have been and where we are going. It also requires us to look at some of the European countries that had that really strong commitment to public housing and at how effectively that has worked in some of those countries over a long period of time.

It is worthwhile reflecting that in my community, once upon a time over 60 per cent of the housing was public housing—Housing Trust housing—so some fundamental changes are needed. Public housing should not just be seen as housing for people with complex needs in what is referred to as category 1. We have to take a far broader approach, and there is a real role for government in doing that.

With changes in the demographics of home occupancy in South Australia, the committee learnt about innovations in housing and the aims of various stakeholders to diversify the housing offered in this state. This includes creating housing options.

Debate adjourned.