Barefoot Investor reveals the three radical ways to fix our housing crisis

The Barefoot Investor has revealed the three radical ways the government can immediately solve the housing crisis.

Scott Pape shared his insights as he addressed the domestic violence crisis and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s policies.

Pape argued that many women were forced to live with their abusive partners because they had nowhere to go due to housing shortages and high prices.

He offered several key solutions to immediately fix the real estate market, which he bluntly called a “dumpster fire.”

“So, how can the government really address this?” Pape wrote in a column for the Daily telegram.

‘Firstly, by temporarily limiting immigration while the rental market is in crisis.

‘Secondly, by reducing negative gearing and cutting capital gains tax (CGT) for investors by 50 per cent.

“And finally, by funneling those tax savings into building public housing that cares for the most vulnerable people in our society: women and their children fleeing domestic violence.”

Addressing the three demands directly to Mr Albanese, he wrote: ‘That seems quite bold to me, Albo.’

His recommendations followed mass outrage among Australians over high rates of domestic violence, which Pape described as “Port Arthur-esque”.

He recalled statistics stating that in Australia a woman is killed by a partner every four days, while police are called every two minutes in cases of domestic violence.

Mr Albanese convened a roundtable following rallies across the country calling for better policies to protect women.

The result was what Pape described as a ‘warmed-over Scomo policy’.

‘[Former prime minister Scott] “Morrison had the Escaping Violence Payment, which offered up to $5,000 for women, and Albanians have the Leaving Violence Payment, which does the same,” he said.

‘Now it’s better than nothing.

“Yet it doesn’t come close to tackling the big problem: our housing market is a complete dumpster fire.”

Mr Albanese described his plan as “two steps forward”.

“What we’ve done is strengthen the program to ensure that there is more, more support, not just the financial payment, but that those support services kick in as well,” he said.

To be eligible for the Violence Leaving Payment, an individual must be a victim survivor and have experienced a change in living situation as a result of the intimate partner violence within the past twelve weeks.

It offers eligible victims up to $1,500 in cash and $3,500 in vouchers.

Pape claimed that the skyrocketing price of housing in Australia has forced women and children to stay in abusive households because they cannot afford to escape.

Anglicare found last month that educated women in high-wage jobs can afford just three percent of rental properties.

“And those cheap rental properties mean that eager candidates are lining up around the corner,” Pape said.

The organization said it was “handing out blankets for women to sleep in their cars”, while Homelessness Australia found only 3.7 per cent of women fleeing violence were able to secure long-term housing.

Pape blamed the government’s tax breaks, which made it easier for investors to offer private rental properties.

Instead, he believes the government should have focused on building more public housing.

“There are far too many women living with violent shock because they can’t afford to move,” Pape said.

On Friday, NSW Deputy Prime Minister Prue Car announced a housing package that would help women leave dangerous situations.

Ms Car said this would be the first step in a greater push by her government to improve women’s safety following an alarming spike in violence against women.

At least 28 women have died this year as a result of gender-based violence.

Speaking after a Cabinet meeting on Friday, which heard from experts and campaigners, Ms Car said: ‘Primary prevention and early intervention needs more attention as we need to drive the cultural change that will stop it.’

Ms Car, the Housing Minister, said the Government will look at underused accommodation facilities with a view to repurposing them as shelters or even long-term housing.

She also said education would be the focus.

“Education is always, always part of the answer, but the government must ensure that schools are supported to do that.”

Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council Penny Sharpe said the announcement was decades overdue.

“What this government has done today [has] has started a process that has taken too long, but it is about urgent action,” she said.

“It’s about things that are going to change the dial… to prevent the behavior in the first place.”