“It is not so easy to pull the wool over the eyes of Canberrans. There are multiple solutions to increasing choice in housing in Canberra,” writes political columnist MICHAEL MOORE.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr has blazoned “more housing choice” across his Our Canberra newsletter. He argues: “The ACT government is supporting the delivery of more housing where Canberrans want to live”. 

The goal, he says, is for “Canberrans to have their say on plans to deliver more low-rise homes in our existing suburbs”. The intention is to “support the growth of our city for decades to come”.

This is simply 1984 “newspeak” (propaganda) that is becoming more common in the US and the world of Donald Trump. It does not belong in an educated Canberra under a Labor government.

The government is focusing only on the gain without mentioning the pain. The pain includes, for example, urban heat island effect, environmental degradation with loss of trees, loss of playing areas for families and loss of the character of the suburbs that have made Canberra the “bush capital”.

There are gains – including having more accommodation closer to where people work. Additionally, there will be less need for investment in greenfields development. The price of free-standing homes will escalate with the resultant increase in rates to be paid to a government that has a poor financial management record.

Then there are the downsides. Many Greens are advocates of urban consolidation. Under their influence, the recent planning mantra seeks to develop within the current footprint. The Australia State of the Environment Report 2021 pointed out that “rising temperatures particularly affect cities because of the ‘urban heat island effect’, in which urban areas are warmer than the surrounding land”.

Flying into Canberra is different than most cities in Australia and around the world. The view from the aircraft window of established suburbs is a tree canopy with houses dotted in between. This bush capital effect is in marked contrast to other cities characterised by urban roofing with a few trees dotted in between.

Climate must be considered. Increasing housing choice in the way proposed by the chief minister is a formula for increasing the heat island effect at a time when the community is wrestling with ways to mitigate global warming. 

According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the second-warmest year on record was 2024 (after 2019), with a national annual average temperature of 1.46°C above the long-term average.

Increasing urban density, named by the ideologues as “the missing middle”, does require loss of trees and loss of backyard amenity that has been so important in the history of Australia. Imagine if the Chappell brothers had not been able to start their cricketing careers in their backyards?

“Urban parks will fulfil that role” is the usual rejoinder. However, when infill is on the table in inner north or inner south Canberra, for instance, there are no plans to improve the green spaces that already exist. The loss of backyard playing areas increases parental worry about the safety of their children and requires much closer monitoring.

Don’t be confused by an article on the new Watson Playground in the Our CBR newsletter. Large playgrounds form an important part of urban centres – however, they are not a replacement for the backyard. Even if they are used by some people a few times a week, they do not replace the easy-to-manage play and discovery learning of backyards.

Hackett featured in this column last week. It is a good example of greenfield developments from half a century ago and beyond. There have been more recent examples of effective greenfield developments that do have the “missing middle”. Denman Prospect is one example, Whitlam another. It can be done. It is time to provide more land to reduce the cost impact of low supply and high demand.

Addressing the housing crisis takes political will. Nicole Gurran and Peter Phibbs point out in The Conversation that in the ACT “there has been a near total retreat from public sector investment in new supply. For instance, in 1969-70, nearly a third of new homes in Canberra were delivered by the government. These days it is just 5 per cent”.

It is not so easy to pull the wool over the eyes of Canberrans. There are multiple solutions to increasing choice in housing in Canberra. When the government largely ignores supply of greenfields development, it reduces real choice in housing. 

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.