Planning Minister John Carey’s tiny homes comments spark debate on Augusta-Margaret River housing crisis

Planning Minister John Carey has stirred the ire of those for whom tiny homes are near and dear to their hearts. Speaking at a housing event last Tuesday, the Minister dismissed the planning innovation as a solution to the housing crisis gripping WA. “There is no single silver bullet to boost housing supply and construction,” he said. “Tiny homes are not the answer.” Mr Carey said he had heard several proposals for tiny homes — typically less than 37sqm — but they were not a total solution. “As the Minister I have an open door policy, you must always be open to new ideas and be prepared to challenge your policy solutions,” he said. “I’ve met many stakeholders and industry experts and I reckon I’d be a rich man if I had $1 for every proposal that was based on tiny homes, 3D printing, and, I’ve just written, ‘insert some other popular TikTok idea’. “That’s not being cynical or dismissive. We have these tiny homes for social housing delivery, but the point I’m really making is that the solution to housing supply is multi-faceted, there isn’t a magic solution.” Tiny homes featured in a Shire of Augusta-Margaret River policy change designed to have a direct reduction on the region’s housing problems. Shire president Julia Jean-Rice said the policy featured a streamlined approvals process for tiny homes meeting the planning criteria “to help provide housing for our community”. “Tiny homes aren’t a silver bullet for the housing crisis, but they’re a valuable tool to ease pressure and diversify housing options in a market dominated by larger homes,” she said. “Housing is a basic human right, yet soaring rents are leaving many struggling, as the ‘great Australian dream’ of owning a house and land slips out of reach. “According to the 2021 census, nearly 80 per cent of houses in the shire have three or more bedrooms.” Ms Jean-Rice also noted Australian homes were some of the biggest in the world. Local architect and sustainability advocate Tom Dowling said steep land prices and the flow-on effect for construction costs were the real problem. “Genuine housing affordability requires broader reform beginning with the recognition that housing is a human right,” he said. “Ending negative gearing and winding back tax concessions are glaringly obvious first steps. “Any politician who avoids these issues, including Minister Carey, is not serious about addressing the housing crisis.” Mr Dowling said tiny homes as a solution risked entrenching the status quo that saw housing too often treated as an investment under the existing tax system rather than a vehicle for housing people. “Houses are homes, not investment vehicles,” the architect said. “We ought to consider that relaxing controls on tiny houses will likely make property an even more attractive speculative investment.”