Arguably one of the most profound ways in which Sir Robert Menzies shaped modern Australian was by helping to lift homeownership rates from 53% to 71%. Defying a Labor Party that decried the creation of ‘little capitalists’ Menzies forged a property owning democracy where the middle class he championed grew so large that Labor had to reorientate itself to court its votes. But since the 1960s, government at federal, state and even local level have adopted policies which have exaggerated demand and strangulated supply in the housing market. To unpack the historical origins of Australia’s housing crisis and what we can do to fix it, we are joined by Saul Eslake.

Saul Eslake is one of Australia’s best-known economists. He’s been following, analysing and offering commentary and advice on the Australian and other economies for more than 40 years. Since 2015 Saul has been running his own independent economics advisory and consultancy service, Corinna Economic Advisory, from Hobart, Tasmania. Saul does keynote addresses at public and private conferences; participates in panel discussions; presents to boards, investment and asset allocation committees; undertakes customized analyses and reports for corporate, investor, not-for-profit and government clients; has given testimony to Parliamentary Committees; and appears frequently on radio and TV and in the print media in Australia and other countries.