Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called on state and local governments to drastically speed up building approvals, pointing to his own electorate in inner-west Sydney as ripe for higher density housing, as developers struggle to build enough homes.

“We know that there have been supply-chain issues as a result of global inflation and as a result of the … pandemic, but we need to put our shoulder to the wheel at all levels of government, including local government, by having appropriate approvals,” he told reporters in Sydney on Friday.