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Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Anthony is trying to build a house and it comes with 86 conditions
Builder Anthony Malone just received approval for a single-storey house he's building. It took 11 months and has 86 conditions of consent. He was recently cleaning out his office and found an approval for a four-townhouse project from 1991. It had five conditions. He's not alone. This week the federal government's economic reform roundtable expressed support for simplifying the National Construction Code to speed up home construction, and pausing any additional rules unrelated to quality and safety. Housing Minister Clare O'Neil has described the near-3000 page code as ridiculous in its complexity, although Labor before the election claimed an opposition policy to freeze the code would lead to poorer quality homes. To build homes, Malone said he has to pay professionals such as surveyors and structural engineers for a range of reports: geotechnical reports, survey reports for building setouts and heights, landscaping, stormwater design, driveway applications, structural engineering, sometimes bushfire and flooding reports. Loading 'It's difficult to do affordable housing when we have all of these extra conditions attached and they come at a cost. And that's before I even mention all the fees associated with that,' said the owner of Malone Enterprises, who is based in Port Stephens, north of Sydney. For example, stamp duty, developer contributions to local council, the state government infrastructure levy, the water authority's developer charge and GST. He thinks homes now are more energy efficient than in 1991– although he thinks this can often be helped by adding insulation – but he is unconvinced about some of the other rules.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
It's the question Albanese hates most, but the answer tells us much about him
Albanese's views on ambition and trust in politics were shaped, in part, by 12 years of watching John Howard up close and then the 2010 caucus coup that tore down Kevin Rudd. At the time, he warned the switch to Julia Gillard would destroy the careers of two potentially great Australian prime ministers and that Labor should be 'fighting tories', not each other. He was correct. In the decade that followed, Labor lost power and the Coalition cycled through three prime ministers before being booted out of office without having achieved much. At the 'Kingo' in 2021, Albanese spoke at length about how the prime ministerial merry-go-round had smashed Australians' faith in politics and politicians (a trend replicated in democracies around the world) and how corrosive that was for democracy and social cohesion. If elected prime minister, he said, he would pursue economic and social reforms but not at the expense of rebuilding trust in Australian politics. Later, during the 2022 election campaign, Albanese outlined a two-term strategy to try to restore the ALP as the ' natural party of government '. In office, Albanese has mostly stuck to his promise to rebuild trust – with two exceptions. First, holding the Voice to parliament referendum, which had been flagged before the election but which ultimately proved to be too much change too soon for most Australians. Second, his decision to change Scott Morrison's stage three tax cuts. This was a broken promise and Albanese was roundly castigated when he announced the change. The critics howled about a promise broken – Peter Dutton called for an early election – but they (including yours truly) were wrong. Albanese took the Australian people into his trust and explained the reasons for the decision. The fact that millions of extra Australians got a tax cut didn't hurt, either. The defeat of the Voice spooked Albanese, and although he carried the day on tax cut changes, these were difficult moments for the government. Though one change was successful and one was not, both contributed to Albanese's already innate caution during the first term. Loading Proposals Labor was examining – such as winding back negative gearing tax breaks – were kicked into the long grass, despite Treasurer Jim Chalmers championing them. Albanese left the door open for just a few days on that proposal before slamming it shut. And while some economists argue that winding back negative gearing could reduce housing supply and exacerbate the problem, the public perception is that limiting the tax break would help solve the housing crisis. But by not acting on this policy, Albanese has reinforced public perceptions that he lacks ambition. When asked about this, the PM vehemently disagrees. Regularly, in public and in private, he will run through a long list of reforms that run the gamut from climate and housing polices, industrial relations, student debt relief and more. Whether you agree with him or not, Albanese enjoys one of the largest majorities in Australian political history, so he must be doing something right. Barring an act of God or caucus, Albanese is certain to lead Labor to the next election, and if this parliament runs full term, he will become the eighth longest-serving PM. Three full three-year terms would leave him behind only Robert Menzies and Howard and ahead of Labor legend Bob Hawke. That is rare air. Albanese – the first prime minister to be re-elected since 2004 – is embedding himself in the political firmament as a left-wing John Howard. The secret to Howard's success was trust. Even those Australians who didn't like him or vote for him trusted that he acted in what he thought was Australia's best interests. Howard used that reservoir of trust to deliver the GST, and then broke that trust with Work Choices. Albanese has not yet delivered anything like Howard's signature achievement, though if the government can put the NDIS on a sustainable footing that will be a huge accomplishment.
The Age
2 hours ago
- The Age
It's the question Albanese hates most, but the answer tells us much about him
Albanese's views on ambition and trust in politics were shaped, in part, by 12 years of watching John Howard up close and then the 2010 caucus coup that tore down Kevin Rudd. At the time, he warned the switch to Julia Gillard would destroy the careers of two potentially great Australian prime ministers and that Labor should be 'fighting tories', not each other. He was correct. In the decade that followed, Labor lost power and the Coalition cycled through three prime ministers before being booted out of office without having achieved much. At the 'Kingo' in 2021, Albanese spoke at length about how the prime ministerial merry-go-round had smashed Australians' faith in politics and politicians (a trend replicated in democracies around the world) and how corrosive that was for democracy and social cohesion. If elected prime minister, he said, he would pursue economic and social reforms but not at the expense of rebuilding trust in Australian politics. Later, during the 2022 election campaign, Albanese outlined a two-term strategy to try to restore the ALP as the ' natural party of government '. In office, Albanese has mostly stuck to his promise to rebuild trust – with two exceptions. First, holding the Voice to parliament referendum, which had been flagged before the election but which ultimately proved to be too much change too soon for most Australians. Second, his decision to change Scott Morrison's stage three tax cuts. This was a broken promise and Albanese was roundly castigated when he announced the change. The critics howled about a promise broken – Peter Dutton called for an early election – but they (including yours truly) were wrong. Albanese took the Australian people into his trust and explained the reasons for the decision. The fact that millions of extra Australians got a tax cut didn't hurt, either. The defeat of the Voice spooked Albanese, and although he carried the day on tax cut changes, these were difficult moments for the government. Though one change was successful and one was not, both contributed to Albanese's already innate caution during the first term. Loading Proposals Labor was examining – such as winding back negative gearing tax breaks – were kicked into the long grass, despite Treasurer Jim Chalmers championing them. Albanese left the door open for just a few days on that proposal before slamming it shut. And while some economists argue that winding back negative gearing could reduce housing supply and exacerbate the problem, the public perception is that limiting the tax break would help solve the housing crisis. But by not acting on this policy, Albanese has reinforced public perceptions that he lacks ambition. When asked about this, the PM vehemently disagrees. Regularly, in public and in private, he will run through a long list of reforms that run the gamut from climate and housing polices, industrial relations, student debt relief and more. Whether you agree with him or not, Albanese enjoys one of the largest majorities in Australian political history, so he must be doing something right. Barring an act of God or caucus, Albanese is certain to lead Labor to the next election, and if this parliament runs full term, he will become the eighth longest-serving PM. Three full three-year terms would leave him behind only Robert Menzies and Howard and ahead of Labor legend Bob Hawke. That is rare air. Albanese – the first prime minister to be re-elected since 2004 – is embedding himself in the political firmament as a left-wing John Howard. The secret to Howard's success was trust. Even those Australians who didn't like him or vote for him trusted that he acted in what he thought was Australia's best interests. Howard used that reservoir of trust to deliver the GST, and then broke that trust with Work Choices. Albanese has not yet delivered anything like Howard's signature achievement, though if the government can put the NDIS on a sustainable footing that will be a huge accomplishment.
