Many young Australians have been hit hard by the first major outbreak of inflation in a generation. At the same time, the surge in post-pandemic immigration has exposed decades of bad housing policy at all three levels of government. The housing shortage has driven up rents, made it harder for first-home buyers to get a foot on the property ladder, and made intergenerational equity an important political issue.

The Greens tried to exploit the situation by pushing populist and counterproductive rent caps and limitations on negative gearing to lure younger voters away from Labour. The militant campaign for the Gaza war appears to have cost the Greens public support, but the housing debate continues to have a major influence on federal politics ahead of next year’s federal election.

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