Speed up approvals for denser housing: Bob Carr’s message to Chris Minns

Former Premier Bob Carr has backed calls to slash the migration rate by almost half – as forecasts predict Australia’s population will grow faster by 2030 than comparable OECD countries.

Former Premier Bob Carr has backed calls to slash the migration rate by almost half – as forecasts predict Australia’s population will grow faster by 2030 than comparable OECD countries.

Mr Carr also says it should be easier for developers to buy up land along major transport arteries so they can build higher density housing close to the city.

Australia’s population grew 2.2 per cent in the year to April, fuelled mainly by 454,400 people moving here from overseas.

Last week, AMP Chief Economist Shane Oliver warned that the current housing crisis will only get worse unless we dramatically cut migration rates.

He called for annual migration rates to be cut to 260,000 people to avoid the housing shortfall getting worse.

Former Premier Bob Carr says Chris Minns should speed up development approvals. Picture NCA Newswire

Mr Carr yesterday agreed, declaring that migration rates should be curtailed once the pandemic-driven skills shortage is addressed.

“Our economy has become addicted to high population growth,” he said.

“The truth is it’s a huge burden falling on Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane which spells overcrowding, congestion, and desperate infrastructure catch-up.”

There are calls to reduce the migration intake to ease the housing crisis. Picture: NCA NewsWire

Mr Carr called for Premier Chris Minns to make it easier for developers to buy up land along transport corridors so they can build more high-density homes.

“When I come along Anzac Parade, I see crumbling one-storey shops. This is a public transport artery with buses and light rail.

“The state government needs to find a way of speeding up the consolidation of these sites to enable respectable developers to acquire them and put up beautifully designed, environmentally sustainable apartment blocks,” he said.

Overseas migration accounted for more than 80 per cent of Australia’s population growth in the year to April.

Australia’s population is set to grow 12 per cent by 2030, faster than comparable OECD countries like Canada (10 per cent), France (two per cent), and Germany (two per cent).

Businessman Dick Smith has called for migration to be cut to avoid Australian kids growing up like “battery hens”.

Businessman and entrepreneur Dick Smith yesterday warned that unless annual migration rates are dramatically slowed, Australian children will end up growing up like “battery hens” due to higher density living.

“They will end up with a life in a high-rise, and going to school in a high rise, and never having a backyard to play cricket in,” he said.

Mr Smith said he has always been “pro immigration, but at sensible levels”.

The warnings come as the Albanese government prepares to unveil its migration strategy, due by the end of the year.

“Under Labor, Australia is getting bigger, and that’s making it harder for Australians to buy a home or find somewhere to rent,” Liberal Immigration and Citizenship spokesman Dan Tehan said.

Liberal spokesman Dan Tehan has called for “a better Australia not Labor’s Big Australia”. Picture: NCA NewsWire

MacroBusiness chief economist Leith van Onselen said the government’s plan to build its way out of the crisis was a “joke”.

“The whole notion that you can fix it with supply when you’re growing the population at levels never seen before is just delusional, quite frankly,” he said.

Bob Birrell, head of The Australian Population Research Institute, said that Labor had been “caught flat footed” by the surge in migration.

“This wasn’t something Labor planned – they never had a stated policy to do this, it’s an unanticipated consequence of the strength of interest in coming here and easy visa requirements.”