Private sector and charities push for social housing-led economic recovery

Construction groups and charities pushed for a post-COVID-19 social housing stimulus to create jobs, with more than 116,000 homeless Australians sheltered in hotels and 250 people a day turned away from crisis centres. Intrapac's Max Shifman, then UDIA vice-president, blamed decades of underinvestment and called for less red tape.

As I told The Age: “We don’t get credit, but the private development sector has actually delivered the vast majority of affordable housing over the past 30 years. But it clearly has not been enough,”

I also said: “Affordable and social housing by definition needs a level of government support to be viable; the burden cannot be borne by the private sector alone.”

Private sector and charities push for social housing-led economic recovery

The Age, 27 April 2020Read the full article