Odd way to fix housing crisis proposed by Aus. Gov’t: invest in stocks first w/ Dr Cameron Murray, Sydney Uni.
The Australian Government has been having trouble getting its proposed Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) passed by the Senate. The policy looks odd. With some justification, the Australian Greens have commented: “In its current form the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) legislation will see the housing crisis get worse. We can't fix the housing crisis by gambling money on the stock market and not guaranteeing a single cent will be spent on housing.” In their dissenting report on the bill, the Greens’ cited the views of this episode’s guest, Dr Cameron Murray. Cameron is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Henry Halloran Trust at the University of Sydney.
Economics Explored · Cameron Murray, Gene Tunny
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Show Notes
The Australian Government has been having trouble getting its proposed Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) passed by the Senate. The policy looks odd. With some justification, the Australian Greens have commented: “In its current form the Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) legislation will see the housing crisis get worse. We can't fix the housing crisis by gambling money on the stock market and not guaranteeing a single cent will be spent on housing.” In their dissenting report on the bill, the Greens’ cited the views of this episode’s guest, Dr Cameron Murray. Cameron is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the Henry Halloran Trust at the University of Sydney.
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About Dr Cameron Murray
Dr Cameron Murray is Post-Doctoral Researcher at Henry Halloran Trust, The University of Sydney. He is an economist specialising in property and urban development, environmental economics, rent-seeking and corruption.
Book: Rigged: How networks of powerful mates rip off everyday Australians
Website: https://fresheconomicthinking.substack.com/
Twitter: @drcameronmurray
What’s covered in this bonus episode
- Cameron’s submission to the Senate Inquiry into the Housing Australia Future Fund Bill [2:39]
- What’s going on with the Housing Australia Future Fund [5:02]
- The only reason you can make a premium is if you take risk [8:57]
- Why you need to separate the funding and the spending [10:36]
- Why doesn’t the Future Fund just directly invest in new houses? [14:21]
- How governments are increasingly doing financially tricky things that don’t make sense [19:23]
- Cameron’s thoughts on the impact of the bill on the level of investment in housing [23:14]
- What’s going on behind the scenes at Parliament House [26:18]
Links relevant to the conversation
Cameron’s submission to the inquiry into the Housing Australia Future Fund:
https://fresheconomicthinking.substack.com/p/australias-housing-future-fund-my
Direct link to Senate Committee inquiry report:
HAFF inquiry home page:
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/HousingPackageofBills
Credits
Thanks to Obsidian Productions for mixing the episode and to the show’s sponsor, Gene’s consultancy business www.adepteconomics.com.au.
Full transcripts are available a few days after the episode is first published at www.economicsexplored.com. Economics Explored is available via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcast, and other podcasting platforms.