Recent articles and broadcasts:
The Swan Hill swindle Talk of good wages and conditions is luring Filipinos to come to Australia on tourist visas to work in horticulture. Once they get here the story changes and they are encouraged to apply for refugee status. It’s a scam that threatens the integrity of Australia’s refugee protection system. The Monthly ($), November 2025
Freedom from information The government’s FOI plan runs counter to its promised opening up of non-sensitive data, Inside Story, 5 September 2025
The neighbour market The PALM scheme is a temporary migrant labour program that enables Pacific workers to fill jobs in regional Australia and send much needed money home. But don’t break your leg playing rugby on the weekend. The Monthly ($) July 2025
Parents and partners last? Immigration might not be the headline issue it was before the election, but problems are mounting, Inside Story, 7 July 2025
No backyard required I tried growing vegetables on a 20th-floor balcony – here’s what I learned The Guardian 21 June 2025
It’s not as simple as building more houses Labor’s housing policies focus on increasing supply. Now it must also tackle distribution, Inside Story, 21 may 2025
The battle for Melbourne An inquiry into planning reform in Victoria’s upper house cuts to the heart of Australia’s housing debates, Inside Story, 15 May 2025
Ahead, full of steam A UK company has developed large-scale thermal batteries to replace fossil fuel boilers and provide steam energy for industrial production, The Monthly, May 2025
Migration Nation What Labor and the Coalition are promising on migration, 7.30 ABC TV (interview), 29 April 2025
Is it still worth getting a home battery in Australia if I can’t install solar panels on my roof? Some households aren’t suited to solar – but do batteries make environmental or financial sense on their own?, The Guardian, 26 April 2025
The devil in your hand Sport and gambling are becoming dangerously intertwined on both sides of the Pacific, Inside Story, 25 April 2025
Struggling renters are all but invisible this election You’d be forgiven for thinking renters don’t vote in elections, considering the lack of means-tested, substantial policies aimed at addressing the housing crisis., Crikey, 16 April 2025
The Coalition makes the case for negative gearing reform Peter Dutton’s housing announcement exposes the inconsistency in the opposition’s thinking, Inside Story, 15 April 2025
Be careful what he wishes for Slashing migration is much harder than it sounds, Inside Story, 11 April 2025
Imagine Sisyphus happy Is hopeful pessimism the best response to climate change? Inside Story, 31 March 2025
Here’s why Australia should build more smaller houses rather than fewer big ones If we’re serious about tackling the housing crisis and boosting productivity in the home building industry, we need to rethink our planning rules, The Guardian 13 March 2025
A brick can last a thousand years One of the architects of London’s council housing renaissance has ideas for Australia, Inside Story 3 March 2025
Buying or building a home in Australia? Here are the energy efficiency features worth paying for As climate change makes heatwaves more dangerous, here’s how homeowners can mitigate extreme heat, The Guardian, 15 February 2025
Lives on the line Spooked by the rise of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, Keir Starmer’s Labour government has toughened its border policies, Inside Story, 14 February 2025
Australian cities are desperate for the ‘missing middle’ of housing density. But it’s not as simple as the nimby-yimby debate suggests A more sophisticated planning approach is needed to build homes for more people while still providing greenery and open space, The Guardian, 29 October 2024
Parents are waiting more than 30 years for an Australian visa. The new home affairs minister needs to act The growing backlog of applications for parent visas has now passed 150,000 The Conversation, 13 August 2024
Poor at politics, strong on policy Andrew Giles’s record as immigration minister stands up remarkably well, Inside Story, 2 August 2024
Power of good: how solar sponge tariffs can be a win for your pocket and the planet These cheap daytime tariffs match the time when solar panels pump out the most energy and households use the least electricity, The Guardian, 10 July 2024
Marinating in Liberalism Can the liberal philosophical tradition off a blueprint for a just society?,Inside Story, 6 July 2024
Too many bedrooms, not enough homes Local councils and NIMBYs continue to cop much of the blame for housing shortages. But the full story is a bit more complicated, Inside Story, 24 May 2024
The case for banning billionaires Should there be a limit on how rich you can be? Inside Story, 29 April 2024
Lord Salisbury’s message for the housing ombudsman … and the housing ombudsman’s message for Australia Inside Story 20 February 2024
How Housing is Widening the Gap Between Rich and Poor in Australia Homelessness is not a bug in the system, writes Peter Mares – it’s a predictable outcome of our housing policies. Melbourne Zero Campaign 7 February 2024
On housing is Labor listening? The government seems to be ignoring valuable ideas raised during consultations on its housing plan Inside Story 26 January 2024
Is migration heading “back to normal”? The government has outlined its vision for skilled migration but it still has lots of colouring in to do Inside Story 16 December 2023
Renters let down by partisan politics After six months investigating Australia’s rental crisis, a Senate committee failed to offer useful recommendations Inside Story 12 December 2023
And that’s housing Alan Kohler meets the ghost of Bob Menzies in the latest Quarterly Essay, Inside Story 30 November 2023
Can we build them? The federal government has set a target of 1.2 million new homes in five years. Discussions at the National Housing Conference revealed the scale of the challenge Inside Story 13 October 2023
Yes or No, history won’t go away Regardless of the outcome of the Voice referendum, Australia’s past will continue to unsettle the present Inside Story 10 October 2023
HAFFing and puffing The federal government can set up the HAFF — its long-promised $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund — after the Greens joined other crossbenchers to pass relevant bills through the Senate. Eureka Street 21 September 2023
Drop the talk about ‘mum and dad’ landlords – it lets property investors off the hook, The Conversation, 15 September 2023
Two cheers for the HAFF Labor and the crossbench have finally come together to tackle Australia’s housing crisis, but more needs to be done Inside Story 13 September 2023
Flawed Foundations The federal government needs more than conventional wisdom to craft a national housing strategy Inside Story 8 September 2023
‘To Marley, Andrea is everything’: the Italian father fighting to stay with his Australian son Like many migrants stuck in permanently temporary limbo, Andrea Tindiani’s last chance of remaining in Australia now rests with the immigration minister’s ‘God powers’ The Guardian, 26 August 2023
The visa that missed its mark, Designed for grandparents wanting to spend time with family in Australia, this new long-stay visa has proved surprisingly unpopular Inside Story, 2 August 2023
Who counts as family? Closing the door on parent migration has a moral cost, ABC Religion and Ethics, 1 August 2023
‘They will never be granted the visa in their lifetime’: the families waiting decades to settle parents in Australia As processing times for some parent immigration visas balloon out to almost 30 years, the families hoping to be reunited for good are left in limbo The Guardian 31 July 2023
Parents may wait up to 40 years to join family in Australia. Is a visa lottery the answer? The Conversation, 31 July 2023
The perfect versus the good How hard should the Greens push on housing? Inside Story 22 May 2023
Dutton reheats ‘Big Australia’ scare — but the housing crisis predates Labor’s win Crikey 15 May 2023 (paywall)
Is Labor’s migration strategy shake-up really ‘big Australia by stealth’? Crikey 1 May 2023 (paywall)
Skill up or sink Labor has taken bold steps towards recasting Australia’s migration system, but difficult questions remain, Inside Story 28 April 2023
The elusive quest for decent homes Not-for-profit associations are taking over as providers of affordable rental housing. What can Australia learn from Britain, where the trend is well advanced? Inside Story 1 March 2023
Building a better capitalism Jim Chalmers’ essay coincided with disturbing British revelations that confirmed the urgency of his concerns. But did he go far enough? Inside Story 9 February 2023
No enough houses? Britain’s housing crisis has lessons for Australia Inside Story 22 January 2023
The plutocratic city How London’s “Haves” and “Have Yachts” are reshaping the city Inside Story 16 December 2022
Building nothing is not an option An urban sociologist probes the strengths and weaknesses of the “yes in my backyard” movement Inside Story 28 November 2022
A new era for housing? The biggest investment in social housing since Kevin Rudd was prime minister won’t be enough to stop life getting tougher for low-income tenants Inside Story 28 September 2022
Ideas being floated to fix Australia’s housing crisis Discussion on Late Night Live, ABC Radio National, 9 May 2022
Repairing Australia’s Housing Crisis How Australia’s two forms of support for low-income tenants — rent assistance and social housing — are both failing. Assemble Papers 12 April 2022
Asking the wrong questions about housing It might be ill-conceived, but at least the latest inquiry into housing affordability is generating high-quality evidence Inside Story 24 September 2021
A line in the water A fateful stand-off in August 2001 saw Australia’s treatment of boat arrivals shift from deterrence by example to deterrence by force Inside Story 28 August 2021
Good ideas going nowhere Timid governments need shaking up — and the pressure won’t come from the top Inside Story 27 August 2021
The myth of merit Our faith in meritocracy is stopping us from thinking clearly about inequality Inside Story 25 June 2021
A free lunch for low income renters? Researchers have identified how to help struggling households more equitably Inside Story 2 November 2020
Putting the heat on polluting businesses Has Black Rock upped the ante for investor action on climate change? Inside Story 13 October 2020
Is a $213 billion budget deficit unethical? The government needs to do more to share the risks during the recovery 7 October 2020
What would it really take to supercharge social housing? With governments unwilling to fix taxes or borrow, perhaps even Ronald Reagan has something to teach us Inside Story 29 September 2020
Beyond shelter “Housing first” has emerged as the most effective way of tackling homelessness. But Finland, Denmark and Ireland show that government resolve is crucial too Inside Story 4 August 2020
Closing the (effectiveness) gap The Productivity Commission wants a new focus on what works for Indigenous communities Inside Story 2 July 2020
Housing the Australian Nation A four-part radio documentary series on the origins of Australia’s housing crisis and ways to fix it, broadcast on ABC Radio National’s Earshot program in June 2020.
Can Australia build its way out of the coronavirus economic slump, with public housing the priority? ABC Online 29 May 2020
Is now the perfect time to address the housing crisis? A conversation about Australia’s housing challenges broadcast on Life Matters on 29 May 2020. Available to listen via the ABC website, or where ever you get your podcasts.
When the market is the policy, housing fails Three housing researchers plot the way out of Australia’s affordability crisis Inside Story 25 May 2020
Coronavirus lays bare 5 big housing system flaws to be fixed 12 May 2020, The Conversation(with Hal Pawson)
Labor’s mixed migration message Kristina Keneally has confused an important debate, Inside Story 6 May 2020
Of visas and viruses Temporary visa holders play a vital role in healthcare and the economy — and that’s just one reason why the rules need to keep evolving during the current crisis, Inside Story 21 March 2020 (with Henry Sherrell)
I don’t want to be one of those absent fathers How immigration law threatens to split a family, Inside Story 20 December 2019
White Australia’s hangover A Labor MP offers an optimistic view of what multicultural Australia could become 2 December 2019
Plenty of Ideas, not much money The federal government made it clear at the National Housing Conference that significant new spending isn’t likely Inside Story 2 September 2019
Housing tax reform through limiting negative gearing and capital gains tax Canberra Times 12 June 2019
If we won’t fix negative gearing, then what? Part of Labor’s housing strategy could be adapted to lift affordability, and might just appeal to the government Inside Story 7 June 2019
Australia’s own border wall Our “state of exception” combines disturbing practices, cost blowouts and chaotic administration Inside Story 11 March 2019
Migration by numbers What is going on inside Australia’s immigration program? New government figures tell only part of the story Inside Story 5 November 2018
Why Labor should break the refugee deadlock The opposition should swallow Scott Morrison’s bitter pill. But it also needs a longer-term plan Inside Story 25 October 2018
A community fix for the affordable housing crisis (an excerpt from my book No Place Like Home: Repairing Australia’s Housing Crisis ) 20 September 2018
Buyer’s luck Carolyn rented, Peter purchased, and then the market (and bad policies) took over (an excerpt from my book No Place Like Home: Repairing Australia’s Housing Crisis ) Inside Story 18 September 2018
Housing: It’s time for the lucky to share some of their good fortune Sydney Morning Herald Opinion 16 September 2018
Build-to-rent: a potential solution to Australia’s housing problem An excerpt from my book No Place Like Home: Repairing Australia’s Housing Crisis Sydney Morning Herald 16 September 2018
“You don’t see people sleeping on the streets” Finland’s Housing First strategy has all but eradicated homelessness. Could the same approach work in Australia? Inside Story 7 September 2018
Where now for immigration policy? How will Scott Morrison respond to pressure from the Coalition’s right to cut immigration? 29 August 2018
Lies, damn lies and migration statistics Peter Dutton’s departure from the home affairs ministry is an opportunity to reset Australia’s debate about population and migration Inside Story 2 August 2018
All work, no stay? Is the idea of Australia as a nation of permanent settlement giving way to a new reality of Australia as a guest worker society?, SBS, (Data rich interactive with SBS Digital Creative Labs) 20 August 2018
Remembering the Dunera A shared experience of wartime internment created an enduring “fictive kinship” Inside Story 13 July 2018
OK Let’s make some music A new project shows the role music can plan in addressing youth homelessness Inside Story 22 January 2018
In search of a national housing strategy If we’re serious about affordable housing then funds need to start flowing and that means biting the bullet on tax Inside Story 6 December 2017
Housings taxes: getting from here to there A shift from stamp duty to property taxes will making housing fairer and more efficient Inside Story 4 December 2017
Does public housing have a community-run future? Inside Story Projects in Australia and Britain are showing how social housing can be more nimble and responsive 30 November 2017
Making a different kind of history Lunch with the controversial custodian of Australia’s borders, Mike Pezzullo Inside Story 28 July 2017
Dealing cities in Malcolm Turnbull’s efforts to bring the federal government back into urban policy will be put to the test in Western Sydney Inside Story 3 July 2018
The department of perverse effects The government’s toughening of citizenship rules would worsen the problems it seeks to tackle Inside Story 16 June 2017
Counting the not quite Australians New data reveals a growing group of long-term temporary migrants Inside Story 16 June 2017
Surfing with Singer Philosopher Peter Singer puts a simple case for altruism. Too simple, perhaps? Inside Story 31 May 2017
Peter Mares 