Today’s heated debate in the ACT Legislative Assembly on the Opposition Leader’s motion on housing affordability ended in a rare moment of agreement: support for more housing choices for Canberrans. Greater Canberra is calling on all parties to follow through. 

Improving housing choices, fixing the “missing middle”, and making Canberra more environmentally sustainable requires legalising more types of housing in all parts of Canberra, not just in greenfields developments. With the Planning System Review currently underway, we call on all parties to reform our planning system to enable this.

“The housing crisis is happening now. Greenfield is not enough. Building new suburbs is a complicated and slow business. If we’re serious about addressing the housing crisis, we need to create more medium density in existing suburbs.

The main reason homes are unaffordable in Canberra is that there’s not enough of them. The Legislative Assembly should allow unit-titled duplexes across Canberra, and embrace new types of housing like the Manor House and co-housing demonstration projects.

80% of residential land in the ACT is zoned as RZ1 - for single family homes. It is largely illegal to build any other form of housing on this land - denying Canberrans housing choice. Plenty of young Canberran families would prefer medium density homes close to jobs and amenities in existing suburbs. Our planning laws prohibit the construction of these homes and make that dream impossible.” - Greater Canberra Convenor, Howard Maclean

About Greater Canberra

Greater Canberra is a community advocacy group committed to affordable and high-quality housing in Canberra. We believe in a future where housing is abundant, and where everyone can enjoy a more sustainable and liveable city. For more information, see https://greatercanberra.org.