Robert Harley’s recent article in this masthead hits the nail on the head when he wrote that “Treasurer Jim Chalmers, and Housing Minister Julie Collins have a bit of explaining to do”.

Harley rightly pointed out that the construction industry already builds around 200,000 homes per year, so while the government’s one million homes target makes a great soundbite, it is business as usual. However, their commitment to maintain that level from 2024 for five years in what Treasury knows will be a declining new home market is much more salient.