74. Renovate or Detonate

Australia’s housing system is in crisis, and recent policy interventions have ranged from ineffective to counterproductive. From the deepening divide between home owners and renters, to unsustainable patterns of residential development and escalating climate risk – Australia’s housing policy framework needs an urgent reset. With new national and state housing initiatives on the table, this panel will debate whether it is possible to ‘renovate’ Australia’s housing system or whether radical change is needed to bring about a more inclusive and sustainable future. Australia’s housing system is in crisis, and recent policy interventions have ranged from ineffective to counterproductive. From the deepening divide between home-owners and renters, to unsustainable patterns of residential development and escalating climate risk – Australia’s housing policy framework needs an urgent reset. With new national and state housing initiatives on the table, this panel will debate whether it is possible to ‘renovate’ Australia’s housing system or whether radical change is needed to bring about a more inclusive and sustainable future. Panel Jenny Leong, Greens Member, NSW Parliament Rebecca Pinkstone, Bridge Housing Leo Patterson Ross, NSW Tenants Union Carrie Hamilton, Housing Action Network John Engeler, Shelter NSW Ben Spies-Butcher, Macquarie University Chaired by Nicole Gurran, Professor, Urban and Regional Planning, Director Henry Halloran Research Trust, the University of Sydney