A POLITICAL BETRAYAL CREATED AUSTRALIA'S HOUSING CRISIS A MINORITY GOVERNMENT CAN FIX IT
EXECUTIVE BRIEF
Australia isn’t just facing a housing crisis. It’s been led into one — deliberately, over decades. In 2013, the Federal Government dismantled the one agency charged with monitoring housing supply and affordability — the National Housing Supply Council. That single act silenced public reporting on what is now a national emergency. A decade later, Australia faces a shortfall of 3.3 million homes by 2029.
The truth was known. The reports existed. The warnings were issued. But instead of responding with policy, successive governments chose donor appeasement and political spin.
We are not here to call for reform. We are calling for structural change.
This crisis cannot be fixed by governments who are beholden to donors. Only a minority government, free from the shackles of donor influence that bind the major parties, can deliver the action the people urgently need.
THIS IS WHAT THEY HID FROM YOU
In 2011, the NHSC reported we were already 180,000 homes short
In 2013, the agency was abolished — accountability erased
From 2014 to 2024, no coordinated national reporting on housing deficits
Today, we are 3.3 million homes behind by 2029, based on population growth and housing demand modelling
Rents have skyrocketed
Entry-level homes are approaching $1 million
Grants continue to inflate demand without boosting supply
The elimination of housing reporting allowed governments to avoid scrutiny while cost-of-living pressures escalated. This policy blindness — intentional or otherwise — has let the problem metastasize.
GLOBAL REPORTS THEY IGNORED
Two key international reports sounded the alarm:
International Housing and Urban Policy Review
Warned of the need for long-term planning to avoid affordability collapse
Recommended supply-aligned incentives and transparency in land/housing stock data
The Squeezed Middle Class Report (2019)
Highlighted that global middle-class expansion was placing unprecedented demand on housing, energy, food and transport
Urged member countries like Australia to intervene early with sovereign resource management and housing policy
Instead, donor-driven housing speculation was encouraged. The opportunity to prepare for mounting population and housing pressures was squandered.
WHO PAYS THE PRICE?
1 million Australians aged 18–45 still live at home
4.2 million people are overcrowded into dwellings
Families pushed into tents, cars, or intergenerational dependency
The average occupancy rate in Australia is now nearly 0.4 persons higher per household than the international norm — an indicator of a deeply strained housing system.
Meanwhile, both major parties continue to:
Offer demand-side handouts that fuel price inflation
Ignore per-capita housing shortfalls
Prioritise donor interests over public need
This is a system that punishes those who play by the rules and rewards speculation over shelter.
WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE?
If governments had acted on the data from:
The NHSC (2008–2013)
International housing benchmarks
Global warnings on population pressures and resource competition
…we would have seen a coordinated strategy to:
Audit and unlock vacant land and housing stock
Fund industrial-scale building at cost
Support renters and first home buyers without fueling price spikes
Introduce regional build quotas based on per capita benchmarks
But instead of policy, we got politics. Instead of homes, we got headlines.
WHY ONLY A MINORITY GOVERNMENT CAN FIX THIS
Minority government isn’t political instability — it’s political clarity.
When no single party has control, negotiation becomes mandatory.
A minority government, held accountable by a crossbench of community-aligned independents, is the only structure that can:
Legislate for the people, not the donors
Restore and empower independent housing oversight
Mandate enforceable national housing delivery targets
Deliver a sovereign housing plan — not a donor-driven policy wishlist
It’s time to force the major parties into cooperation, accountability, and service to the public interest.
WHAT YOU CAN DO NOW Subscribe free to CHATO International’s Housing Tracker — stay informed and empowered
Support our campaign with a paid subscription — help us hold every party to account
Share this white paper with others who’ve been locked out of housing and truth
You're not breaking the system — you're taking ownership of your future.
Authorised by Andrew Dyhin, CHATO International, Gold Coast