The Australian government has announced a new $2 billion housing supply measure in its budget, aimed at providing infrastructure support to states and local councils to unlock development for 65,000 homes over the next decade. This translates to approximately 6,500 new homes per year, as part of what the government claims is $47 billion in housing supply initiatives over the past four years.

Economic analyst Alan Kohler argues that the federal government should consider a more direct approach by building public housing itself, noting that houses and apartments cost between $350,000 and $400,000 each to construct. He points out that public housing was historically an important component of affordable housing when it was more accessible, citing past efforts by leaders like Whitlam to restart public housing programs after previous cuts. While acknowledging the Housing Australia Future Fund's community housing support as positive policy, Kohler suggests it remains too limited in scope to address the scale of Australia's housing affordability crisis.