By Denis Hay
Description
Australia’s public housing crisis is urgent. Learn how public housing can address its issues using monetary sovereignty.
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Introduction: Australia’s Crisis, a Fair Housing Fix
What if we told you Australia already has the power to end the housing crisis? That it’s not about money, but political choices?
Let’s be clear. Millions of Australians are being locked out of secure housing, not because we lack resources, but because governments stopped using them for the public good. The truth is that public housing can solve this. Not decades from now. Now.
Stat Snapshot:
122,000+ Australians are homeless.
Source: Homelessness Australia (2024)
Why is a wealthy country like ours failing on something so basic?
The Problem: Why Australians Feel Stuck
Root Cause: Neoliberalism and the Sell-Off of Public Goods
Remember when housing was seen as a right, not a money-spinner? That changed. In the 1980s, neoliberal policies turned housing into an investment vehicle. Governments stopped building homes and started selling them off.
Today, private developers receive massive public subsidies, while ordinary Australians queue for years on dwindling waitlists. That’s no accident. It’s policy.
Related: Why Australians Must Reverse Privatisation Now
How can a nation that built the Snowy Hydro scheme now claim it “can’t afford” housing?
Consequence: Real People, Real Struggle
Take Joan, a 76-year-old widow living in her car. Or Kyle, a casual worker paying 60% of his income in rent. This is not just tough luck. It’s systemic failure.
According to Anglicare’s Rental Affordability Snapshot (2024), only 0.6% of rentals are affordable for a person on JobSeeker.
Where’s the fair go in that?
The Impact: What Australians Are Experiencing
Everyday Effects: Cost of Living and Insecurity
The housing crisis feeds every other pressure. People are skipping meals, avoiding healthcare, and working multiple jobs to cover rent. Families can’t plan. Kids can’t settle in school.
And it’s only getting worse.
Read more: Rising Cost of Living in Australia
How can young people dream of owning a home when they can’t even find a secure rental?
Who Benefits: Profits Before People
Big banks, real estate moguls, and land speculators have made billions from our pain. The Reserve Bank has warned of rent-driven inflation, but governments still refuse to cap rents or build housing.
Why? Because profit comes first.
Meanwhile, public money props up negative gearing, landlord tax breaks, and inflated house prices.
Is this housing policy, or a legalised transfer of wealth?
The Solution: What Must Be Done
Australia’s Monetary Sovereignty and Real Reform
As a nation with monetary sovereignty, Australia issues its own currency. That means we can fund what we need, when we need it, using public money.
Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) shows clearly that real limits are not financial, but physical: workers, materials, and land. We have them all.
We just need to use them for public purposes.
Learn more: Australia’s Dollar Sovereignty Explained.
Imagine: instead of pouring money into corporate pockets, we invest in homes, security, and community.
We can do better. We must do better.
Policy Solutions and a New Vision for Housing
Here’s what we need now:
- Build 1 million new public homes nationwide.
- Use sliding-scale rents so no one pays more than they can afford.
- Guarantee lifetime security of tenure.
- Make housing carbon-neutral and climate-safe.
- Prevent privatisation – keep public housing public.
- Involve communities in design and oversight.
This is what a modern housing system looks like. This is the public housing blueprint we need.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1. What makes public housing different from affordable housing?
Public housing is owned by the government, not profit-seeking developers. It’s secure, long-term, and built for community, not speculation.
Q2. Can Australia afford to build 1 million homes?
Yes. We are a monetary sovereign nation. We can fund this using public money. The real limits are materials, labour, and political will.
Q3. Who would qualify for the new public housing model?
Everyone who is in need. Rent levels would be income-based, ensuring accessibility for workers, pensioners, students, families, and more.
Q4. How would public housing affect house prices?
It would help stabilise the market. With enough supply and fewer desperate renters, prices would stop spiralling. This benefits society, not just investors.
Final Thoughts
This crisis is not natural. It is manufactured. And that means we can fix it.
Public housing that is affordable, accessible, and secure is not a radical idea. It is common sense.
Imagine an Australia where every child sleeps in a warm bed, where no pensioner dreads eviction, where housing brings hope, not fear.
We can create that future. But only if we demand it.
What’s Your Experience?
Have you been affected by the lack of public housing in Australia? What would secure, affordable housing mean for your life?
Share your experience in the comments below.
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This article was originally published on Social Justice Australia
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Problems here can be solved by strict, sensible, radical action. All current elected politicians are to be moved out immediately to tha lawn, as was the Aboriginal embassy once. A daily ration of a bread roll, a can of soup or beans, plus a bonus litre of juice or milk (CHOICE! more than the poor buggers on Centrelink criminality) and for only, say, six months… would we get action, compassion, assessment, sympathy, duty???
Phil. Your frustration reflects what many Australians are feeling right now: decades of inaction, spin, and neglect from politicians who seem entirely out of touch with the struggles of ordinary people. While we might not be able to send them all to the lawn just yet, what we can do is build public pressure for radical, sensible reform, starting with basic rights like housing, healthcare, and fair support for those who are struggling.
The real question is: Why do politicians only act when their own comfort is threatened? That’s why so many of us are calling for policies grounded in compassion, public duty, and economic justice, not profit or donor interests.
Let’s continue to challenge the system, but let’s also advocate for constructive alternatives, such as public housing, debt relief, and an economy that prioritises people. We deserve a government that actually serves.
Problem is, that whole diffusion of responsibility…
Housing is state responsibility, not federal, and there’s a whole suite of complex arrangements at play that make it difficult to administer. Look at health and education sectors for examples…
Great read but I would legislate for only one investment property per taxpayer. This would significantly reduce house prices and release thousands of properties.