What we believe
Affordability
Australians pay more than they need to for housing, particularly in our major cities. Sydney has one of the most expensive housing markets in the world, because more people want to live here than there are homes available. This is morally perverse.
The simplest way to reduce the improve affordability and access to housing in Sydney is to build more of it.
There is a huge body of evidence from Australia and overseas that demonstrates the link between housing supply and prices. Because they're unable to build enough houses to meet demand, providers raise prices instead. Restrictions on housing supply, through planning controls like zoning or heritage, mean that we are paying an estimated 40% more for housing than we have to.
Our planning system discourages densification in the areas where people want to live, and slows down the provision of new housing. We believe in abundant housing because it will improve affordability.
Sustainability
Living in a city is more environmentally sustainable compared to other ways of life. People who live in dense cities drive, pollute, consume, and waste much less individually. This is because there are compounding benefits to drawing people closer together rather than spreading them further apart.
Urban residents produce less carbon emissions per capita through greater use of public and active transport and decreased ownership or use of cars. They generally have more compact homes which are easier to heat and cool, and may benefit from insulation effects from adjacent buildings.
Density helps to minimise suburban sprawl and reduces the need for new developments on the fringe, helping to preserve native habitat or agricultural land. Reducing sprawl also reduces the need to provide new infrastructure (such as roads, sewage, and electricity lines) which are a burden on governments and a hidden cost of greenfield development.
Australian Governments have committed themselves to net zero by 2050. Some have set earlier targets or have committed to interim targets which vary in their ambition. A simple way to reduce our overall environmental impact is to provide abundant housing through increased residential density.
Liveability
Throughout history, people have gathered together in cities to live, work, and play. Cities are the heart of our economic and cultural life, because bringing people close together creates vibrancy and activity that is more difficult or even impossible when they're spread apart.
The things that make city living attractive - convenient access to jobs, amenities, goods and services - is made possible by density.
Increasing density increases economic activity and access to bars, restaurants, cinemas and theatres, live music venues, galleries and a variety of social and cultural infrastructure.
Abundant housing means abundant people, who live, shop, create and interact with each other and make a more liveable community.
For more information, read our post on our Positive Vision for Sydney.
