With home ownership increasingly out of reach for many Australians and surging rents along with low vacancy rates putting more people in tenuous living arrangements, a QUT-led panel discussion will next week explore options to address the severe housing crisis faced in Brisbane and elsewhere.
‘Sustainable Solutions to the Housing Crisis‘ is a panel discussion on at QUT on Tuesday 25 October 2022, starting at 4pm (AEST). It’s an initiative of Building 4.0 CRC, an industry-led research initiative co-funded by the Australian Government.
Held against the backdrop of the Queensland Government’s Housing Summit, it will be led by Dr Tanja Tyvimaa, Building 4.0 CRC Program Leader at QUT and a senior lecturer in the School of Economics and Finance. Her research areas include residential property values, residents’ preferences, and property development.
“Brisbane, like many cities, is facing a severe housing crisis. Increased property values, high rental costs, strong population growth and multiple flooding events, along with record low vacancy rates, mean many people can’t find or afford a home,” Dr Tyvimaa said.
“When you factor in the lead up to the 2032 Olympics, the situation in Brisbane is likely to get worse. Scattered projects and piecemeal approaches will not resolve this crisis. We need a fundamental change in our housing market.
“Currently the rental market relies on private investors, often ‘mum and dad’ investors. Larger, rental housing providers are the minority.
“International examples demonstrate how we can structure the housing market differently. Now it’s time for policy makers, developers, builders, architects, social housing providers, advocacy groups and other stakeholders to come up with some realistic solutions.”
With a focus on the current rental squeeze, three panellists – each one an expert in the housing sector – will offer their insights on how we can sustainably and collaboratively tackle the housing crisis.
About the speakers
Cameron Murray is an economist and consultant who specialises in property markets, environmental economics and corruption. A Research Fellow in the Henry Halloran Trust at The University of Sydney, he is the blogger of Fresh Economic Thinking and co-author of Rigged, the second edition of Game of Mates: How favours bleed the nation, that was first released in 2017.
Sue Pope is CEO of Common Ground Queensland, which operates Brisbane Common Ground, Queensland’s first supportive housing initiative. This 14-storey, 146-unit building in Hope Street, South Brisbane offers both affordable housing and on-site support services provided by community service partner Micah Projects. The project creates a diverse building community and increases opportunities for social inclusion.
Dean Milton is Chief Operating Officer at the Real Estate Institute of Queensland, the peak body representing real estate professionals across Queensland. Dean is a chartered accountant with over 20 years’ experience working in Brisbane and London across various sectors, including Hospitality and Gaming and Banking. He’s also worked as a policy advisor.
About Building 4.0 CRC
Building 4.0 CRC aims to deliver better buildings at lower cost and the human capacity to lead the industry.
Its 4 integrated research programs will help deliver:
- more sustainable practices for designing, constructing and occupying buildings
- new industry-wide culture, practices and standard protocols and pathways for future employees to develop new, tech-focused skills
- new building processes that leverage the latest technologies, data science and AI
- improvements to building “hardware” and processes across all building phases (development, design, production, assembly, operation, maintenance and end-of-life).
