Duelling policies: big build-ups, very little foundation

Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton will square-off ahead of the election on who has the better housing, immigration, infrastructure and tax plan. Picture: Martin Ollman/NewsWire

The duelling housing policies of Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton in response to Australia’s home ownership crisis and spillover into immigration, superannuation, infrastructure and tax will decide who wins the election.

The lack of courage and vision of Labor and Coalition leaders in tackling Federation and tax reform have planted toxic seeds, which have baked in a housing and rent crisis that will take years to reverse.

Baby boomers and Generation X, those who worked hard to buy a home and in some cases an investment property or two, are concerned about their children and grandchildren cracking the market.

The fault lays squarely at the feet of all three tiers of government, which in recent years have talked big games for little result. The stewardship of housing policies and taxes by local and state governments has been horrific.

Councils, state and territory governments have failed to unlock enough land, have become obsessed with red and green tape, and for too long have enjoyed the gravy train of housing taxes, infrastructure charges and rates, which increase year on year.

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate has turned the tourist city around since coming to office. Last week, the Gold Coast was ranked as Australia’s fastest growing economy. He is a proven doer; there aren’t enough of them in our politics.

Politicians and bureaucrats have become obsessed with environmental laws, emissions standards and cumbersome approvals processes that slow down development, drive up expenses and hold back new housing supply.

After Scott Morrison positioned housing as a central federal government priority ahead of the 2019 election, Albanese and Dutton have inherited what really is a local and state government issue.

It was convenient for councils and state governments to shift responsibility to the commonwealth. Federation reform is now firmly Australia’s “elephant in the room”.

One of the worst legacies of the Covid pandemic was the power transferred to state and territory leaders via national cabinet. The other problem is the political fear of federal Labor and Coalition leaders in taking on the states. You can’t mention GST reform without tantrums. You can’t develop a national gas and energy plan without Victoria refusing to unlock gas reserves.

The housing crisis along with concerns around migration and infrastructure are now the main issues for sceptical voters.

It comes down to whether Albanese or Dutton will sell their plan better.