I have discussed before the spate of announcables from the current Government – events and releases which give the impression of taking bold actions which grab headlines, but which in reality signifies very little at all. Housing was a standout example, but now we have another, the jobs plan.
Which in fact was a scene resembling The Hollowmen. It took 260-pages and six cabinet ministers to announce the jobs plan, and according to Jim Chalmers he wants to reduce the non-inflationary jobless rate so 2.8 million people who are not working, or wanting to work more hours, can bolster the labour market and improve their wellbeing.
So, the federal government will put “full employment” at the heart of Australia’s policy frameworks and institutions, to drive down structural unemployment over time and keep unemployment as low as possible. And they say the benefits of a strong labour market are not equally shared.
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An important debrief on the past weeks Senate Inquiry into Regional Branch closures, use of cash and other banking issues, with Robbie Barwick from the Australian Citizens Party.
In a week where Central Bankers did not lift rates in the US, UK, or Japan, although the ECB did last week, the key message coming though was simple. Expect rates to stay close to current levels for some time, and if inflation does prove stickier, then rates might still go higher. But the real action this week was in the Bond markets, with yields out along the curve up, as prices fell.
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Whatever announcables may come from the Government, the truth is housing crisis in Australia is far from over.
As I discussed with Leith van Onselen on Tuesday, high migration is the root cause of the problem – a problem created by bad policy and ultra-high migration. Yet some are arguing we should import more construction workers to build more homes. Sounds like shoot ready aim, to me.
Sure it is true that as Australia’s housing affordability crisis worsens, governments are spending more on housing. But as a recent The Conversation article says, without coordinated action to increase supply, government grants will have little practical effect on house affordability anytime soon.
Victoria’s Andrews government has announced a suite of reforms (such as boosting social housing and making planning processes faster) in an effort to get 800,000 extra homes in Victoria over the next decade.
Federally, the Albanese government’s A$10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, or HAFF, has passed the Senate with the help of the Greens, who supported the bill in exchange for another A$1 billion for social housing. And this year’s federal budget has expanded eligibility for the Home Guarantee Scheme so more people can buy a home with a smaller deposit. But is Australia ready for a house construction boom?
Supply chain constraints say no. Ballooning construction costs and labour shortages have already claimed well-known building firms across the country. Delivering thousands of extra new homes in the coming years will not be easy.
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Today’s post is brought to you by Ribbon Property Consultants.
This week we get Central Bank Decisions from the Bank of England, The Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan. The European Central Bank delivered a 10th consecutive hike last week, though signaled that the peak may have been reached. We also are getting further floods of data, and we know that Central Bankers are being data dependent, perhaps too much so.
For example, a Bank of Canada official said she sees evidence higher rates are working to cool the economy, blaming a hotter-than-expected inflation reading on monthly volatility driven in part by energy and rental costs.
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This is an edited version of our recent live show, as I discuss the latest economic and housing news with Chief Economist at Nucleus Wealth, Leith van Onselen, who is also the co-founder of Macrobusiness.
We do a deep dive on the Population Ponzi and why housing shortages are likely to remain with us for ever. Its by design.
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Digital Finance Analytics (DFA) Blog
DFA Live Q&A: HD Replay: The Population Ponzi With Leith van Onselen
