Growing national developer Time &amp; Place has announced its fifth new apartment development.

With two projects in Manly and two upcoming in Surry Hills and Potts Point, the developer, which expanded beyond Melbourne just a few years ago, is now heading to Mosman. It is planning 53 new apartments on Redan Street.

The 3,233 sqm site, spanning <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/40-48-redan-street-mosman-nsw-2088">40–48 Redan Street</a> with frontage to Redan Lane, is located just under 400 metres from Spit Junction Town Centre. It is reported the developer paid around $100 million for the five-site amalgamation.

Time &amp; Place, founded by Tim Price and backed by James Packer’s private investment firm NPACT, has submitted the project as a State Significant Development through the NSW Government’s Housing Delivery Authority pathway.

Of the 53 apartments, 42 will be released to the market, with the remaining 11 allocated as affordable housing in line with NSW Government requirements.

fjc Studio has designed the building. In its Design Report, the architect said the diverse mix of dwelling types and sizes, including 11 two-bedroom affordable housing units, 40 three-bedroom apartments, and two four-bedroom residences, will support a broad demographic, including families, downsizers, and key workers.

The development will rise to nine levels, a height encouraged by the NSW Government due to the site’s proximity to Spit Junction, which has been identified as a low- to mid-rise centre. Developments within a certain proximity to these centres are permitted increased height.

fjc said the project “achieves an appropriate density outcome for its setting by balancing increased housing supply with strong amenity performance,” adding that it “makes a measurable contribution to NSW housing supply targets through the delivery of additional dwellings and dedicated affordable housing.”

The new development will replace five existing two-storey homes.

“By aligning with the objectives of the Housing SEPP and applying careful architectural and urban design principles, the development provides high-quality residential accommodation that integrates sensitively within its established Mosman context and delivers enduring benefits to residents and the wider community.”

Mosman has become increasingly popular with developers in recent years.

Developer Abadeen has been particularly active, with Mosman Residences currently on the market and under construction on Clifford Street. It also has an upcoming Burran Avenue project, comprising just three apartments on the Balmoral Slopes, and recently secured the Midas and Honeysuckle nursery site on Military Road.

Prosker Property has a project on Redan Lane, just a few doors down from Time &amp; Place’s proposed development.

Developers including Toohey Miller, DARE Property Group, and WINIM also have projects underway in the area. In 2024, a five-year target was set for the Mosman LGA to increase housing supply by 500 dwellings by 2029.

Time &amp; Place entered the Sydney market with Two Tides, its under construction Manly development. Given its sales success, it has secured another development in the area, more boutique, facing the beach on North Steyne.

They are hoping to launch their redevelopment of The Chimes in Potts Point this year, and next year will look to take to market Marlborough House, an adaptive re-use of the landmark David Jones warehouse in Surry Hills.

Joel Robinson

Time & Place to take on Mosman apartment market

Brunswick’s civic heart continues to consolidate around the Merri-bek Arts and Culture Precinct, where a growing cluster of cultural institutions, recreation facilities, and public infrastructure has created one of the inner north’s most defined community hubs.&nbsp;

Within this evolving precinct, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/saxon-street-by-milieu-brunswick-31-saxon-street-brunswick-vic-3056">Saxon Street by Milieu</a> introduces new housing directly alongside the civic anchors that shape daily life in the suburb.

At 31 Saxon Street, the project sits immediately beside Brunswick Baths and within moments of Brunswick Library and Town Hall, longstanding institutions that support both community services and everyday amenity.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=136434 project_image_fid=348840]

Next door, the newly delivered Balam Balam Place arts precinct has emerged as a central piece of Merri-bek Council’s cultural strategy, bringing together creative studios, exhibition spaces, maternal and child health services, and community programming in a purpose-built civic facility. Together, these destinations have reinforced the surrounding blocks as a focal point for public life in Brunswick.

This part of <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/brunswick-vic-3056">Brunswick</a> forms a key pocket within the suburb’s designated Major Activity Centre, where long-term planning has prioritised walkability, civic investment, and increased housing supply close to transport and services. The surrounding street network reflects that strategy, with compact blocks, established retail corridors and active transport links supporting a lifestyle that is largely navigable on foot.

Within a few minutes’ walk, Sydney Road delivers one of Melbourne’s most recognisable streets, known for its long-running mix of independent retailers, international dining venues and everyday convenience. Tram routes along Sydney Road provide frequent connections south toward the CBD and north through Brunswick and Coburg, while Jewell Station on the Upfield line sits within roughly a ten-minute walk, offering direct train access into the city.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=136434 project_image_fid=348839]

Active transport also plays a significant role locally. The nearby Upfield Bike Path forms a key north–south cycling corridor linking Brunswick through Parkville and into the central city, reinforcing the area’s reputation as one of Melbourne’s most accessible inner-urban neighbourhoods for cyclists and pedestrians alike.

The surrounding civic cluster extends beyond cultural infrastructure. Siteworks, a nearby creative hub supporting artists and community organisations, adds to the concentration of cultural activity in the immediate area. Educational institutions such as Brunswick North Primary School, Brunswick Secondary College and RMIT’s Brunswick campus are also within easy reach, contributing to the suburb’s diverse resident base spanning families, students and professionals.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=136434 project_image_fid=348841]

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/jackson-clements-burrows-architects">Jackson Clements Burrows Architects</a> in collaboration with <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/interior-designers/designoffice">DesignOffice</a> and landscape architects <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/oculus">OCULUS</a>, the nine-level building has been shaped to respond to the surrounding streetscape, with lower levels aligning to the street and upper storeys stepping back to soften its scale and improve solar access.&nbsp;

Curved balcony forms reference nearby heritage architecture, while the development’s public realm improvements include a widened footpath along Saxon Street to strengthen pedestrian connections between the precinct’s civic sites.

Sustainability also underpins the project’s approach. The building is designed to operate entirely on electric infrastructure supported by rooftop solar, with an average 7.5-star NatHERS energy rating and EV-charging readiness across the development. Shared resident amenities will include a landscaped rooftop terrace with barbecue and covered dining areas intended to encourage informal interaction between residents.

Saxon Street marks developer Milieu's fifth project in Brunswick and continues its focus on design-led infill housing across Melbourne’s inner suburbs.&nbsp;

Construction has commenced through reputable builder Manresa, who will complete the project in 2027.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=136434]

Saxon Street by Milieu connects residents to Brunswick’s cultural and civic core

Within <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/candela-ivanhoe-40-upper-heidelberg-road-ivanhoe-vic-3079">Candela Ivanhoe</a>, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/salter-brothers">Salter Brothers</a>&nbsp;takes a different approach to larger residences, moving away from the constraints of a single level.

In Grand Residence 3.05, known as the Lustre, plays out across two levels, with a mezzanine configuration that is uncommon in apartment living.

Lustre is a four-bathroom residence where the layout creates a clear distinction between shared and private zones, with uninterrupted views toward the Dandenong Ranges extending the sense of openness from the main living areas.

Entry is to the primary living level, where the kitchen, dining, and living areas are arranged as one continuous space. Timber flooring runs throughout, with a fireplace set within the living zone. Full-height glazing brings in natural light, supported by double glazing that improves thermal performance.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=342 project_image_fid=357506]

The kitchen is configured as both a working and social space. A large island bench provides seating, while a walk-in pantry extends storage beyond typical apartment expectations.

Gaggenau appliances, including a 900mm gas cooktop and 600mm oven, are integrated into a layout that connects directly to the adjacent dining and living areas, and outward to the terrace. This balcony includes a built-in BBQ, reinforcing the apartment’s capacity to accommodate larger gatherings without compromising internal space.

A dedicated laundry room, powder room, and a wine cellar area sit discreetly off the main living zone, ensuring that functional requirements are resolved without encroaching on primary living areas. The master suite is also located on this level, designed as a retreat with a walk-through wardrobe and an ensuite that includes double vanities, a bath, and a dedicated dressing table.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=342 project_image_fid=357508]

The mezzanine level introduces a second layer of living, rather than simply additional bedrooms. Two large bedrooms with built-in robes are positioned alongside a central bathroom, while a secondary lounge and study area create a self-contained zone suited to children, guests, or extended family. A large storage room further supports long-term usability, addressing a common shortfall in apartment design.

This separation of levels is central to how the residence functions day-to-day. It allows the lower level to operate as the primary entertaining and living space, while the upper level provides privacy and flexibility. The result is closer in feel to a townhouse or standalone home, but with the benefits of apartment living, security, and low maintenance.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=342 project_image_fid=364553]

Candela is close to 80 per cent complete, with Ironside delivering construction ahead of its expected October 2026 completion. The development comprises 58 residences, with a strong owner-occupier profile and a mix of one to four-bedroom apartments and loft-style townhouses.

Candela has exclusive access to private amenities, including a residential lounge and rooftop terrace. A charming café and a lifestyle wellness centre are located on the ground level, designed to foster community connection and extend the living experience beyond individual apartments without competing with the scale of homes like Lustre.

Candela, positioned in the heart of Ivanhoe Village, reinforces the practicality of the address. With a Walk Score of 90, residents are within immediate reach of cafés, retail, parklands, and Ivanhoe Station, while also benefiting from proximity to established schools and healthcare services.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=342]

Inside Lustre: Grand Residence 3.05 at Candela Ivanhoe

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/milieu-property">Milieu</a>’s <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/elsternwick-gardens-by-milieu-8-gordon-street-elsternwick-vic-3185">Elsternwick Gardens</a> is being shaped around a simple but increasingly rare premise in apartment development: that the built environment should actively support residents’ wellbeing.&nbsp;

Located on the former ABC Studios site on Gordon Street in Melbourne’s south-east, the new neighbourhood sits on an expansive 11,740 sqm site neighbouring the heritage-listed Rippon Lea Estate, whose gardens date back more than 140 years.

Rather than positioning wellness as an add-on amenity, the development integrates it into the physical planning of the site. Architecture by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/woods-bagot">Woods Bagot</a> is arranged across six low-rise buildings set within extensive landscaping designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/landscape-architect/oculus">OCULUS</a>, with more than 40 per cent of the land dedicated to gardens and green space. Walking trails, pocket gardens, and mature trees are threaded between buildings, creating a network of green corridors that encourage residents to move through the precinct on foot and spend more time outdoors.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=136535 project_image_fid=288420]

Milieu has intentionally framed these gardens as an extension of the neighbouring Rippon Lea Estate. More than 16,000 new plants will be introduced across the site, with species carefully selected to protect and complement the area’s ecological significance. The approach focuses on strengthening existing environmental conditions while establishing new habitats that support native wildlife, reinforcing the role of the landscape as both an active ecosystem and a defining element of daily life.

A private resident gate will provide direct access to the historic grounds during opening hours, allowing residents to move seamlessly between the development’s landscaped gardens and the estate’s expansive lawns, lakes, and mature trees. The project’s gardens will also be maintained by the same gardeners responsible for Rippon Lea, reinforcing the visual and ecological continuity between the two landscapes.

Complementing the landscape is a dedicated wellness hub designed to support everyday health and recovery. Residents will have access to a gym alongside yoga and Pilates studios, while mineral pools and infrared saunas provide spaces for relaxation and restorative wellbeing. Shared lounges, workshop spaces, and pet care facilities expand the concept of wellness beyond fitness, creating opportunities for social connection and community interaction within the precinct.

Environmental performance is another key component of the project’s wellbeing focus. Elsternwick Gardens will be entirely fossil-fuel-free, with homes designed to operate on renewable electricity rather than gas. Passive design strategies, including cross-flow ventilation, high-performance insulation, and thermally broken double glazing, are intended to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures while reducing energy demand. Solar photovoltaic systems will power common building services, while rainwater harvesting will help irrigate the extensive landscaping across the site.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=136535 project_image_fid=361030]

Milieu Founder and Managing Director Michael McCormack says the scale and setting of the project allowed the team to take a different approach to urban apartment living.

“This site represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build something truly special,” McCormack says.

“Through that process, we arrived at a design that centres on a fully realised natural landscape – a series of private, interconnected gardens that encircle the homes and extend seamlessly from Rippon Lea Estate.”

Elsternwick Gardens will comprise three residential offerings, Gordon Place, Ripponlea Terrace, and The Garden Pavilion, each designed for owner-occupiers and shaped around high-quality interior design by Woods Bagot, K.P.D.O., and Flack Studio. The first stage, Gordon Place, includes one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments designed with a strong focus on indoor-outdoor living and sustainability.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=136535 project_image_fid=288412]

Milieu recently appointed <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/brady-constructions">Brady Constructions</a> to deliver the project, marking a key milestone for the development. The appointment follows the demolition of the former studio buildings on the Gordon Street site, with construction progressing toward the delivery of the nature-led community.

Situated between the established villages of Elsternwick and Ripponlea, the development balances its garden setting with strong urban connectivity. Residents will be within walking distance of cafés, restaurants, and local retail, while nearby train and tram connections provide quick access to Melbourne’s CBD and the beaches of Elwood and St Kilda.

With construction underway and the first residents expected to move in by early 2027, Elsternwick Gardens represents a growing shift in apartment development toward environments that prioritise wellbeing as much as density or location. By placing landscape, sustainability, and shared spaces at the centre of the design, Milieu is positioning the project as a residential neighbourhood where wellness is not just promoted, but built into the structure of everyday life.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=136535]

Elsternwick Gardens' wellness-first design strategy

Brisbane-based developer <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/red-co">Red &amp; Co</a> has made a striking debut on the Gold Coast, officially unveiling its $250 million COMO development in Varsity Lakes, a lifestyle-driven residential project anchored by an extensive rooftop wellness and activity precinct.

Having recently launched to market, construction has already been fast-tracked by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/builders/5point-projects">5Point Projects</a>, ensuring momentum continues on what is set to become a landmark residential address for the growing Varsity Lakes community.

Located at 22 Lake Street, Varsity Lakes, <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/como-varsity-lakes-22-lake-street-varsity-lakes-qld-4227">COMO</a> will comprise 156 apartments across 16 levels, comprising one-, two- and three-bedroom residences designed for modern living. However, it is the project’s rooftop amenity offering that sets COMO apart.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135546 project_image_fid=363510]

Designed as a dedicated wellness and recreation hub, the rooftop will feature a 25-metre lap pool, fully equipped gymnasium, and multiple pickleball and paddleball courts - amenities rarely seen in boutique apartment projects.

Residents will also have access to a sauna and plunge baths, while landscaped gardens and relaxation zones will provide tranquil spaces overlooking sweeping panoramic views across the Gold Coast skyline.

The rooftop precinct has been designed to function as the social and wellness heart of the development, encouraging residents to embrace an active, balanced lifestyle within their own building.

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135546 project_image_fid=363512]

Red &amp; Co director David Laverty said the amenity offering was central to the project’s design from the outset.

“Amenities were at the forefront of our decisions,” Laverty said.

“Buyers today are looking for more than just an apartment - they want a lifestyle that promotes health, connection and balance.

“The rooftop at COMO has been designed to be the epicentre of that lifestyle, with a suite of wellness and recreation facilities that are quite unique for a boutique development of this scale.”

&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135546 project_image_fid=363514]

Designed by <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/bda-architecture">BDA Architecture</a>, the residences prioritise liveability, featuring spacious layouts, 2.7-metre ceilings and high-quality finishes throughout.

The development sits beside Bond University, placing residents within walking distance of education, retail and dining options within the vibrant Varsity Lakes precinct, including Robina Town Centre, Varsity Lakes Train Station and a range of leading schools.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=135546 project_image_fid=363511]

Laverty said the location was a key driver behind Red &amp; Co’s decision to bring the project to the Gold Coast.

“<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/varsity-lakes-qld-4227">Varsity Lakes</a> was a clear choice for us to invest in as it’s a lifestyle hub that seamlessly blends lakeside living with urbanity,” he said.&nbsp;

“Como will capitalize on this great location, delivering a project that not only creates premium homes, but a lifestyle defined by community, wellbeing, and connectivity.”

Red &amp; Co has delivered more than 500 apartments and townhouses across 26 projects in Brisbane in recent years, with COMO marking the company’s first major Gold Coast development.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=135546]

Red & Co unveils amenity-rich Como development in Varsity Lakes

Politicians

<h2>EXPERT INSIGHT</h2>

The most pointless discussion in real estate is the one about housing affordability. It&rsquo;s pointless, not because it lacks importance or potential solutions, but because the conversation never focuses on the real issues.

Australia has been debating affordability for decades. The media discussion that&rsquo;s happening in 2021 is the same one that occurred last year, and five years ago, and 20 years ago. Go back in time as far as you like and you&rsquo;ll find acres of newsprint describing how young Australians are priced out of the market and doomed to a lifetime of renting.&nbsp;(Ironically, the past 12 months has seen record activity from first-home buyers.) But if you examine media coverage of the affordability issue over the past 10, 20 or 30 years, you will struggle to find any reference to the root causes.

That&rsquo;s why the debate is pointless. If you&rsquo;re not going to discuss the real issues, why bother? The debate is generally driven by politicians skilled at diverting blame and the reports are written by journalists who haven&rsquo;t got a clue.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=100322 project_image_fid=161038]

Recent decisions by the State Government in Victoria encapsulate why we have expensive housing and difficult issues for first-home buyers. They hiked taxes on investors and reduced grants for FHBs &ndash; thereby making affordability worse at both ends of the equation. More expensive housing and less government assistance. Brilliant.

But Daniel Andrews and Tim Pallas would swear they cared more about FHBs and housing affordability than anyone else in the nation.

This is standard fare from our politicians. When Gladys Berejiklian became Premier of NSW in early 2017, she used her first press conference to claim that improving affordability was top of her priorities. Four years later, most decisions by her government impacting on affordability have made it worse, not better.

It&rsquo;s a similar story with deadly Dan Andrews. He would have us believe that he lies awake at night fretting over the plight of young housing hopefuls, but in so many ways his government has made affordability worse.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=3565 project_image_fid=68186]

The decision by his Government to hike land tax and stamp duty on investor owners continues the age-old problem of politicians using the housing industry as a cash cow - and thereby making housing more expensive to create.

The problem of affordability can be summarised like this: it&#39;s caused by politicians at all three levels of government&nbsp;milking the housing industry for revenue. Local government does it and the Federal Government does it, but by far the worst are state governments.

Every time a state government&nbsp;needs some extra revenue, they slug developers and investors. They believe there&amp;#39;s little electoral damage&nbsp;in doing that, but ultimately it&amp;#39;s the home-buyers who pay,&nbsp;including first-home buyers.

Australia has a rental shortage crisis and politicians should be encouraging investors. But they continue to discourage investors - hence the ultra-low vacancies and rising rentals in most locations. The State Government in Victoria has made the situation worse. A memorable episode of the iconic British comedy Yes Minister involved the quintessential public servant Sir Humphrey Appleby lecturing about how governments present the appearance of caring about an issue while changing nothing.

You call for an inquiry. Let the inquiry run for a couple of years. Then recommend a Royal Commission. Another couple of years gets chewed up. At the end of the process, identify an unpopular minority to blame for the problem and scapegoat them. Nothing has changed but you&rsquo;ve created the appearance of serious action.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=2407 project_image_fid=77658]

It sounds farcical but Australia actually did this with housing affordability. There was a series of Federal Government inquiries and at the end of a very low process, devious politicians decided to scapegoat foreign investors as the cause of the affordability problem.

That gave politicians a licence to slug foreign investors with a series of new charges, all under the guise of improving affordability. It was an incredibly cynical exercise - a revenue-raising measure, pure and simple &ndash; and nothing changed about affordability because foreign investors were never the problem.

At the last Federal Election, the Labor Party under Bill Shorten sought to save money in the Budget (they fully expected to win) by proposing to scrap negative gearing and increase capital gains tax &ndash; but tried to dress it up as a measure to improve housing affordability. When asked &ldquo;Does this mean that the value of homes will fall under your policies?&rdquo;, Shorten claimed that it did not. The value of homes would not fall. This begged a follow-up question: &ldquo;How, then, will affordability improve?&rdquo;

Labor front-bencher Tanya Plibersek, in the lead-up to the 2019 election, claimed that the typical property investor in Australia owned 15 or 20 properties. Given that the official data shows that the typical investor owns one or two properties, this was an outrageous lie. But quite deliberate and calculated.

Federal Labor (and many sections of the media) generally portrayed property investment as something akin to a criminal activity, thereby scaring off investors already discouraged by APRA measures.

The outcome is a national rental shortage crisis.

Yes Minister was a documentary, not a comedy. And we will never resolve the housing affordability issue until we understand that the politicians are the problem.

Daniel Andrews and Tim Pallas would swear they cared more about FHBs and housing affordability than anyone else in the nation, standard politician bunk

terryryder

How state governments smash housing affordability: Terry Ryder

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GUEST OBSERVATION
Politicians in many countries around the world claim to be experiencing a “housing crisis”. But how do they define it, who is affected, and what is the cause?
These are critical questions. Exploring them can help us understand why much of the evidence from research is not carried through into political discourse and policy.
In the wake of the growing global “crisification” of housing, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02673037.2019.1697801" target="_blank">our research</a> evaluated political speeches in Hansard connected to the housing crisis in New Zealand over three terms of the centre-right National Party government (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_National_Government_of_New_Zealand" target="_blank">2008-17</a>). We sought to better understand how the issue became visible in politics and then trace this through to policy. We found the term “housing crisis” was rarely used before 2013.
Our aim was to provide deeper insights into why the problem appears to be resisting resolution. While the research took place in New Zealand, the findings have wider relevance for other countries grappling with this issue of “housing crisis”.
Tracing the rise of the housing crisis
Crises are truth claims. They are invoked, they define, they blame and, in doing so, they privilege certain ideologies or policy “solutions” over others.
If the problem is seen as due to “red tape”, too much immigration or unfair taxes, then these all require very different interventions. Some responses will be more effective than others. Some may have more in common with long-held political ideology than a body of scientific evidence.
The chart below shows the emergence, frequency and party-oriented nature of housing being framed in terms of a “crisis”.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311241/original/file-20200121-117943-1pmrh05.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt=""> 
Frequency of the ‘housing crisis’ framing by year and political party. Author provided
From being used only two times during the first term of National government (2008-11), the term was used 105 times in the second (2011-14) and 205 times in the third (2014-17). (The lack of use in 2014 appears more related to parliament being distracted by an election year than the profile of the issue.)
You can also see it’s almost exclusively opposition parties, in particular Labour and the Greens, that use the crisis framing. MPs from the ruling National Party used the term only five times, and then mainly in response to previous speakers to resist the charge.
A contest to frame the issue
Turning to the content of debate, the following table provides an overview of the strength and focus of the framing themes used.
<img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/312709/original/file-20200130-154320-qaf3ab.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="">
Author provided
Even though the governing party resisted the crisis terminology, a very consistent narrative dominated housing debates. It was that the reason for poor affordability was an inefficient and overly bureaucratic planning system that stifled the release of development land. It was a problem of supply, the reasoning went: more land should logically lead to more houses to meet demand, which should make housing more affordable.
In some ways the subordinate counterframing attempts by opposition parties provide an insight into the complexity of the housing crisis. In contrast, the government framing appears both easier to communicate and “solve”.
The episodic and missing frames are of particular interest as they help demonstrate what perspectives and voices were not represented in any meaningful manner.
Even though the National government did not accept the framing as a crisis, the high profile of the political discourse led to a suite of legislative and policy initiatives. These documents strongly reflect the dominant narrative. For example, the Resource Management Act, the main planning legislation in New Zealand, receives repeated blame for high house prices as part of the justification for measures aimed at increasing the supply of land.
What does this mean for evidence and policy?
A key finding is that the crisis claim from opposition parties did not just lead to a contest over whether this was correct, or even its meaning. It also opened up a new political space for the ruling party to promote long-standing ideas about the preferred relationship between the state, private sector and market.
Researchers recognise housing as a multifaceted public policy problem and draw upon multiple streams of evidence. However, the political framing of housing as a crisis and its links to policy was much more simple, siloed and ideological. Although wider political discourse did acknowledge the complexity of housing issues, the nature of politics and the balance of power meant the cause was reduced to a simple effective message – poor land supply and an inefficient planning system – which informed the policy responses.
This gap between evidence and politics may also help explain how various urban and environmental crises have become less of a one-off event and more of a modern lived condition that may never be “solved” but rather redistributed politically.
In reality, the various frames show how there is not just a singular “housing crisis”. There may be a supply crisis, a demand crisis, a quality crisis, a distribution crisis, a credit crisis, a rental crisis, and so on. All of these issues differ between local, national and international contexts.
Lastly, if political power and existing ideological perspectives are so central to the framing and response to a crisis, then this raises questions for how researchers can better integrate research into politics and policy. While topics such as liveability, sustainability, density, connectivity, justice and quality are well represented in research, the data show this is not carried through into political discourse. Perhaps by focusing on the reasons for this gap we can better understand policy failure and the role of power and ideology in perpetuating the housing crisis.<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/128861/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;">
<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/iain-white-95947" target="_blank">Iain White</a>, Professor of Environmental Planning, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-waikato-781" target="_blank">University of Waikato</a>
This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/housing-crisis-what-crisis-how-politicians-talk-about-housing-and-why-it-matters-128861" target="_blank">original article</a>.
</body></html>

j.ballantyne1990-6AQqhLzZaK

What housing crisis? How politicians talk about housing and why it matters

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<div class="_1665V undefined">
The Queensland Deputy Premier Jackie Trad has been referred to State Parliament's ethics committee over her failure to declare the purchase of a house in Woolloongabba.
The speaker Curtis Pitt tabled his decision on Friday, stating it would be "prudent" to refer the Deputy Premier to the ethics committee.
Trad had previously been referred to the the Crime and Corruption Commission (CCC) which found no evidence of corrupt or dishonest conduct in the Deputy Premier’s late disclosure and lodgement of paperwork relating to the purchase.
</div>
<div class="_1ysFk">
<div class="_1665V undefined">
The house, purchased by Ms Trad's husband within the Cross River Rail corridor for $695,000, was not properly declared by Ms Trad within the required timeframe.
The Cross River Rail portfolio was removed from her ministerial responsibility following the controversy.
The house was recently on-sold.
</div>
<div class="_1665V undefined">
The CCC referred back the matter to the Parliament for consideration by the ethics committee.
</div>
<div class="_1665V undefined">
The Speaker recognised Ms Trad's public apologies but noted no apology had been made to the House.
</div>
</div>
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