Why home ownership is out of reach for millions of Aussies

5 days ago

Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here More than one-third of Aussies believe they will never afford to buy a home, a new survey has revealed. House prices have boomed in the last two decades, with the gap between income and the price of property rising to an all-time high. New research from data comparison firm Finder showed 35 per cent of Australians - up to 9.5 million people - now say they will never own property. Millions of Aussies are being pushed out of the housing market. (Joe Armao/The Age) Finder's Graham Cooke said many are feeling like they are being shut out of the market, even if they have good jobs. "Record prices, steep borrowing costs, and saving for a deposit are locking people out," he said. "In many suburbs, even a six-figure salary won't comfortably cover a mortgage." The survey also found almost half of all Australians are living paycheque to paycheque, and 12 per cent feel insecure in their current job. The housing crisis is a conundrum experts around the country are trying to solve, and one theme has become clear, according to the survey of housing experts. Experts in Australia agree that housing supply must be increased restrictions must be eased. (Getty Images/iStockphoto) "We need to increase the housing stock. That means the government should play an enabling role by introducing and coordinating policies that remove barriers to housing development," Mala Raghavan from the University of Tasmania said. Addressing immigration is also a potential solution, according to another expert. "The only options are to reduce demand or increase supply," Noel Whittaker from the Queensland University of Technology said. "The way to reduce demand is to limit immigration and reduce all these government schemes that are allegedly making homes more affordable. "As far as supply goes, I'm pessimistic; there's a huge bottleneck, and the bureaucratic processes of government at all levels make it nearly impossible." national
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7NEWS

2 hours ago

7NEWS

7NEWS The Issue: Why Trump's latest veiled threat could spell trouble for the pride of Australia

It was a telling measure of the value Australians put in the country's 77-year-old Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. In mid March, as the Albanese government looked for an issue to give it impetus for a soon-to-be-called election, it turned to the PBS; loved in Australia - and loathed by Pharmaceutical makers abroad - for delivering medicines at little more than one quarter the cost paid by Americans. Prime Minister Albanese announced, if reelected, he'd reduce the scheme's cap on prescriptions, from $31.60 to just $25. Opposition leader Peter Dutton immediately backed the plan. 'We support affordable medicines,' he told radio 2GB. On complaints from US pharmaceutical companies about the PBS, the Prime Minister seized on the chance for a fight. The PBS, he said was 'a monument to the fairness at the heart of Australian life and we don't negotiate our values.' The PBS is political gold. Supporting it is a 'no brainer' for a federal politician. Yet, five months on that threat from the US, has only intensified and it may yet test Australia's love for the scheme. For President Donald Trump, high prescription drug costs in America have become a cause. Loading content... Last month, the White House announced the President had written to 17 drug company CEOs demanding guarantees 'they will not offer other developed nations better prices for new drugs than prices offered in the United States.' According to a Trump White House fact sheet, 'Americans are subsidising drug-manufacturer profits and foreign health systems.' The statement did not mention Australia's PBS, but if the White House staff had wanted an example, it would have been an obvious candidate. 'The PBS is a cornerstone of our Medicare system' according to Medicines Australia CEO, Liz de Somer, though that's where her applause for the scheme ends. Medicines Australia is the industry body representing many of the same pharmaceutical giants now targeted by the Trump White House. According to Liz de Somer 'we're lagging behind other countries in the time it takes to make new medicines available on the PBS.' 'We are now taking an average of 466 days for a new innovative medicine to be listed on the PBS, and that's after it's already been deemed safe and effective by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.' 'We know these drugs are safe, we know they're effective, but the government has not yet decided to purchase them and make them subsidised for patients. They take too long.' Medicines Australia wants the 466 days average drug listing time, reduced dramatically - to just sixty days. That would likely mean dramatically reducing the time taken by the government and companies to negotiate a price for their medicines. The end result could easily be a bigger bill for the Australian taxpayer. Currently, the PBS costs about $14 billion a year to run. Of course, there is a human cost to delaying approval for medicines. Medicines Australia points to the 'many, many cancer medicines that are not available for patients' in Australia. According to Liz de Somer: 'We are getting one in four innovations listed on our PBS at the moment. That's not good enough.' 'We know that people are waiting for these medicines. We know that they can see they're available in other countries, and they don't understand why they're not made available here.' There is an obvious profit motive for pharmaceutical companies in getting listed sooner and selling their product more quickly, but delays in the system have a human cost. The Albanese government is currently considering recommendations to reform the scheme including measures designed to speed the process.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers flag approvals changes in environmental laws

Sky News AU

4 hours ago

Sky News AU

Treasurer Jim Chalmers flag approvals changes in environmental laws

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says Australians are 'burning cash' waiting for approvals as he takes aim at Australia's sluggish productivity rate ahead of a three-day talkfest in Canberra. Chalmers will next week host an economic reform roundtable in Canberra where boosting productivity and building resilience in Australia's economy and budget will take centre-stage. Speaking with The Guardian, Mr Chalmers said slow approval times by governments and councils had stymied productivity. 'It will be one of the main ways that people think through our regulatory challenges and our challenges around the time it takes to get projects approved,' Chalmers told the Guardian. 'In all the consultation I've been doing – in housing, renewable energy projects – there are too many instances where people are burning cash waiting for approvals to build things that we desperately want people to build.' The treasurer's remarks signal reform to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is a high priority for the re-elected government. The Albanese government failed to deliver on its promise of reform the country's complex environmental laws its first term. Separately, Mr Chalmers told NewsWire on Friday that Australia's sluggish birthrate meant the country would have to lift productivity to maintain living standards. 'It's not surprising that the birthrate has slowed given the pressures on people, including financial pressures,' he said. 'We want to make it easier for them to make that choice. If they want to have more kids, we want to make it easier for them to do that, and that's what motivates a lot of our changes.' As Australia struggles to boost the economy, and in turn raise wages and living standards, it's contending with a sluggish birthrate of 1.5 births per woman, which is under the 2.1 figure needed to sustain population growth. Boosting productivity will be essential to ensuring that Australia's ageing population can weather economic headwinds, the Treasurer said. 'Now, the reason why the productivity challenge is important to this is because our society is ageing, and over time, there will be fewer workers for every person who's retired,' he said. 'We need to make sure that our economy is as productive as it can be, as strong as it can be to withstand that demographic change, which is going to be big and consequential.' Originally published as Treasurer Jim Chalmers says too many Aussies are 'burning cash' waiting for approvals

‘Burning cash': Treasurer flags big shake-up

Perth Now

5 hours ago

Perth Now

‘Burning cash': Treasurer flags big shake-up

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says Australians are 'burning cash' waiting for approvals as he takes aim at Australia's sluggish productivity rate ahead of a three-day talkfest in Canberra. Chalmers will next week host an economic reform roundtable in Canberra where boosting productivity and building resilience in Australia's economy and budget will take centre-stage. Speaking with The Guardian, Mr Chalmers said slow approval times by governments and councils had stymied productivity. 'It will be one of the main ways that people think through our regulatory challenges and our challenges around the time it takes to get projects approved,' Chalmers told the Guardian. 'In all the consultation I've been doing – in housing, renewable energy projects – there are too many instances where people are burning cash waiting for approvals to build things that we desperately want people to build.' The treasurer's remarks signal reform to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act is a high priority for the re-elected government. The Albanese government failed to deliver on its promise of reform the country's complex environmental laws its first term. Treasurer Jim Chalmers told The Guardian reform to the country's environmental laws, including the permitting process, could boost productivity. NewsWire/Martin Ollman. Credit: News Corp Australia Separately, Mr Chalmers told NewsWire on Friday that Australia's sluggish birthrate meant the country would have to lift productivity to maintain living standards. 'It's not surprising that the birthrate has slowed given the pressures on people, including financial pressures,' he said. 'We want to make it easier for them to make that choice. If they want to have more kids, we want to make it easier for them to do that, and that's what motivates a lot of our changes.' As Australia struggles to boost the economy, and in turn raise wages and living standards, it's contending with a sluggish birthrate of 1.5 births per woman, which is under the 2.1 figure needed to sustain population growth. Boosting productivity will be essential to ensuring that Australia's ageing population can weather economic headwinds, the Treasurer said. 'Now, the reason why the productivity challenge is important to this is because our society is ageing, and over time, there will be fewer workers for every person who's retired,' he said. 'We need to make sure that our economy is as productive as it can be, as strong as it can be to withstand that demographic change, which is going to be big and consequential.'