The political calculus has changed, and it has changed incredibly quickly. It used to be politically expedient to be a NIMBY, but it is now politically popular to be a YIMBY. The aspiration of home ownership is rapidly deteriorating for young Australians and poses a unique demographic and political challenge for the Liberal Party. Putting this crisis into perspective, in 1984 the average Australian could buy a home that cost 3.3 times their annual income. In 2023 a home is 10 times the average person's annual income.

The Liberal Party fundamentally believes in the aspiration of home ownership, and it needs to reframe the debate from "housing affordability" to "home ownership". Labor and the Greens believe that the Government or big super, through build-to-rent programs, should be the landlord of the people of New South Wales. But as a nation we should never believe in that type of neo-feudalism—a system in which an elite group of people own property and the majority of people are serfs subservient to them. We must reject that archaic and regressive agenda and support home ownership through increasing private supply.

One of the key reasons underpinning the home ownership crisis is the State planning system, which places an extraordinary administrative burden upon developers and favours a select group of rent-seekers, the NIMBYs, who seek to restrict housing in their area for their own selfish purposes. The Opposition must come to terms with the fact that our previous Government is culpable in this crisis. Of course we did try to overhaul the planning system in 2013 but we were blocked by Labor and the crossbench in the upper house. Regrettably we jettisoned any substantial reform of the planning system in our subsequent terms.

The crisis requires a bold policy platform from the Opposition that prioritises sustainable and adequate increases to density and private housing in established communities in Sydney. The NSW Productivity Commission has found that urban sprawl costs $75,000 more per home compared to established communities in Sydney. However, existing train and light rail stations in Sydney provide an excellent opportunity for zoning changes, for R3 and R4 medium  to high density residential properties well connected to entertainment and employment hubs. That is where the development needs to take place.

The Liberal Party should take inspiration from the Canadian conservative opposition leader, Pierre Poilievre, who is successfully prosecuting a classical liberal cause on home ownership. That includes offering funding bonuses to local councils that surpass their housing targets and withholding funding from local councils that block housing supply because of egregious opposition from NIMBYs. This policy platform is resonating with Gen Z and millennial voters in Canada who are preferencing the conservatives at over 40 per cent, around double the right of centre vote for young Australians.

The Liberal Party faces a demographic wave of voters who are not shifting conservative as they get older. One key reason is that they do not own their own home. One cannot become a conservative if one has nothing to conserve. Robert Menzies understood that challenge in the 1950s when he successfully championed and encouraged home ownership during his long tenure in government. In 1949, when he was first elected to government, home ownership in Australia sat at around 50 per cent. When he left office, it had increased to over 70 per cent.

Home ownership rates among Gen Z and millennials are rapidly approaching levels not seen since the pre-Menzies 1940s. My generation is inherently aspirational, but the extraordinary cost of housing is crushing the housing dream of young people. Many have given up the aspiration of owning their own home altogether. The crisis requires urgent reform, especially to our ancient and cumbersome planning system. We should also look internationally for inspiration where in cities like Paris, London and Manhattan, density and amenity are not mutually exclusive. We can work towards building beautiful and quality dense developments. Street Level Australia, Building Beautifully and Sydney YIMBY do an excellent job at highlighting transit-oriented development done well and organising against selfish NIMBY opposition to quality developments. In fact, in his excellent research, Dr Peter Tulip from the Centre of Independent Studies found that house prices near big developments typically move at the same rate as they do in other suburbs, so there does not seem to be any serious damage to the neighbourhood amenity.

Furthermore, whilst the housing affordability crisis is predominantly linked to supply, the NSW Government can reform the demand side of the equation by specifically removing stamp duty and transitioning to a broad based land tax. We know that stamp duty deters the transfer of property and actively increases the costs of buying a home. The previous Government had committed to that objective through the First Home Buyer Choice program, which has sadly been removed by Labor. I do, however, congratulate the Opposition Leader, who in his budget reply speech gave in-principle support for not only restoring this scheme but also expanding it to include a stamp duty exemption for empty nesters to downsize, which will free up supply for younger families.

As a Party, we must foster a nation of homeowners and mini capitalists. It is not only good policy, it is also good politics. So my plea to Liberal Members of Parliament who get a little worried every time they receive a phone call, email or letter from a NIMBY in their electorate is: you will not lose your seat because of 10 letters from NIMBYs who do not want a development to go ahead. But you will lose your seat if only one in five Gen Z and one in four millennials are voting for the Liberal Party because they cannot afford to buy a home. We must do more to drastically increase private housing supply and we must worry far less about the handful of NIMBYs that contact our electorate offices. We can win the next state election, but only if we win back younger voters and that means YIMBY policies focused on home ownership.  

Chris Rath is the Opposition Whip and a Liberal Member of the Legislative Council. This article is based on two of his speeches to NSW Parliament.

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