Peter Tulip

Nearly half (48 per cent) of people either strongly or tended to support increased residential density in their own neighbourhood, up from 46 per cent last year and 44 per cent in 2024. About 17 per cent of people were strongly opposed to the idea, while 18 per cent were ambivalent. Matt Levinson, the committee’s head of corporate affairs, said: “We’ve seen [support for increased density in people’s own suburbs] gradually moving up year on year, and the number of people who oppose it gradually declining. Two-thirds of the city now see it as OK in their own neighbourhood.

This is what winning looks like.

YIMBY Melbourne and Sydney YIMBY present the Order Without Design Australian Tour poster

Cities are the vital engines of the Australian economy, and how we build them matters.

This is a vital evening for those passionate about solving the housing crisis, and building more affordable, liveable, and sustainable Australian cities.

events.humanitix.com/order-withou...

While cutting red tape sounds great, how do we do it?
One approach is to require rigorous cost-benefit comparisons of regulations.
This would find many regulations to be excessive; including land use, environment, lending restrictions, airport security, product safety, copyright, etc. 4/4

Best practice for supply-side reform | Inflection Points To maximise the impact of supply-side policy, reform should focus on bans over burdens, and markets over individual firms.

Of course, the other 32% also matters and should be reduced. But, as @1finaleffort.bsky.social argues, policy should "target bans, not burdens."
inflectionpoints.work/articles/bes... 3/4

Housing is an example.
The Queensland Productivity Commission reports that a wide range of regulations add $186,000 to the cost of a new greenfields house in Brisbane. $128,000 (68%) of this is direct prohibition of extra residential housing. 2/4

qpc.qld.gov.au/content/inqu...

Both sides agree we need to cut red tape.
cdn.liberal.org.au/pdf/2026-Der...
Good. But there is too much emphasis on compliance costs.
The costs of prohibitions are typically far greater.
The main problem isn't that regulations make things difficult. It's they stop worthwhile things altogether. 1/4

No. It's representative. The same story is playing out with minor variations in every second suburb in Sydney and Melbourne.
It's people like these that make housing unaffordable.

Melbourne is in the middle of a housing revolution – have the yimbys already won? Advocates say even they are surprised by Allan government’s embrace of higher density housing, but warn construction costs risk city becoming ‘victim of its success’

For decades, the loudest voices in planning were saying "No." We started YIMBY Melbourne to say "Yes."

The Guardian credits that shift with driving a "planning policy revolution." Proof that when you show up with evidence & optimism, you can change policy!

This is a cartoon about housing.

Greater Brisbane 🏗️🏢 Brisbane's YIMBY network We're Greater Brisbane Urbanists, grassroots YIMBYs working to build a better, fairer city for everyone. Join us and help build abundant housing, better transport and walkable streets.

We just relaunched our website! We've been around for a few years now and thought we should show off all the work our volunteers have been doing. New and improved with news stories, all our newsletters and every bit of advocacy we've done!

Congestion pricing after one year: How life has changed. (Gift Article) How life has changed in the New York area, according to data on traffic, transit and the responses of 600 readers.

Road charging is being overhauled, as electric vehicles erode fuel excise.
A government that learns from overseas experience would introduce congestion charges.
After one year, New York’s charge is a clear success.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

These are 10 of my favourite #UrbanEconomics & #SpatialEconomics articles published in academic journals in 2025, continuing with a tradition started in 2018 (order is alphabetical by first author, no ranking implied):

I should have been clearer. They didn't walk away. They sold or rented the 95% and never completed the rest, avoiding the charges.

When New South Wales levied developer charges "on completion" we got a lot of 95% finished projects that never completed.

New Research → Building more homes reduces displacement

Year 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan…

* Vehicle traffic: -11%
* Foot traffic: +3.4%
* Storefront vacancy: -0.9%
* Pollution: -22%
* Revenue for mass transit: $548M

So YES this has been a huge success.

I wonder if easier vehicle efficiency standards are more important than tax incentives, as in the US.
"Light commercial vehicles" like Toyota LandCruiser and Nissan Patrol are allowed 210 g/km of CO2; while passenger vehicles have to meet 141 g/km.

Fixing the housing crisis isn’t complicated, governments just don’t want to do it The easiest way to boost the supply of housing in Australia would be for governments to build new houses. And the easiest way to provide affordable rental accommodation would be to rent the new govern...

If the government were to provide a million extra homes, as proposed by the Greens, with an annual subsidy of $15k each (the public housing average), that would cost $15 billion a year.
@richarddenniss.bsky.social says this is simple. I see big complications.
thepoint.com.au/opinions/251...

FINALLY a significant parking reform in Australia! "Apartments in areas across the state considered to be serviced by high-frequency public transport will no longer have a minimum parking requirement." cc @parkingreform.org

Lots of voters say housing is their number 1 concern. So the potential to move votes is substantial.
I can't prove this, but I think the popularity of the NSW and Victorian State governments is partly attributable to their aggressive action on housing (and ability to label the opposition as NIMBYs)

That contrasts with the Government, which wants house prices to grow sustainably.
instagram.com/reel/DC8Pd1L... 2/2

Senator Andrew Bragg, the Federal Liberal Party Housing spokesman, spoke at the CIS today.
I asked: "Do you want home prices to fall?"
Bragg: "I think for first home buyers, the answer is yes."
1/2

YouTube video by Guardian Australia Does Anthony Albanese have the guts for big reform? - Back to Back Barries Live

Evidence that Labor's inaction on housing is less than wildly popular with voters:
Tony Barry: “In focus groups, housing is the number 1 issue… We asked: ‘Who has the better policy on housing? Albanese, Dutton or neither?’ Neither was the highest number by far”
youtu.be/okiuDssxS4Y?... (at 36:00)

Link: www.ceda.com.au/research-and...

Another day, another report saying that we need to upzone to improve housing affordability. It's time for policy makers to listen to the experts and get on with the job!

“The vacated homes were substantially cheaper than the new units and spanned diverse locations and housing types.”

When people move into new housing developments, they free up space in older housing. This is good for housing affordability and availability.

Shout out to the recent upgrades to Crown St, Surry Hills. City of Sydney removed several car parks in favour of landscaped outdoor dining areas. Some were turning temporary ones from COVID permanent, others are new. It's a really great area to walk along and enjoy.

Here's some before and after:

Box B: Annual Forecast Review | Statement on Monetary Policy – November 2025 Box B: Annual Forecast Review | Statement on Monetary Policy – November 2025

A great idea.
But rigour and randomisation seem ambitious.
I would be happy with any evidence-based evaluation.
The RBA's post-mortems on its Covid-era programs and forecasts are a great advance.

www.rba.gov.au/monetary-pol...

www.rba.gov.au/publications...

Does this masterplanned community address your concerns?
www.planning.nsw.gov.au/plans-for-yo...

Yes, with the insurance companies closely monitoring builders and their reputation.