Canberra to unveil 2-billion-dollar housing infrastructure fund
Treasurer Jim Chalmers will use Tuesday's federal budget to unveil a 2-billion-dollar fund for local councils to build roads, pipes and electricity links. The government estimates the cash injection will unlock 65,000 additional homes over a decade.
The new Housing Acceleration Fund targets the 1.2-million-home planning bottleneck where council infrastructure shortages have stopped projects from breaking ground. Treasury says the 65,000-home boost adds to the National Housing Accord's existing 1.2-million target. Payments will be performance-linked, released only as building permits are issued.
Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock called the move 'helpful on the supply side'. The RBA cut its cash rate to 4.10% this week and pointed to inflation easing to 2.8%; housing costs remain one of the stickier components of CPI.
The budget will also include an extra 1.1-billion-dollar fuel-subsidy top-up linked to the Iran war and 8.3 billion dollars for Indo-Pacific defence spending. Opposition leader Sussan Ley argued that without parallel zoning and council-rate reform the fund will 'remain a paper tiger'.
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