One expert says Australia's housing situation is hopelessly outdated, but a simple solution is in sight.
The famous futurist Phil. Ruswin (Phil Ruthven) says most of Australia's housing problems can be solved by adopting a rental model, which is common in Europe and the rest of the world.
The model allows tenants to obtain long-term leases over a period of 5 to 10 years or more, giving them greater rights and control, enabling them to better equip, decorate and use their homes.
Australia will need to accept the model in the near future, as fewer and fewer people own their own homes out of choice or need, Mr. Ruswin said.
"I've been advocating for years that renting is better than buying, but I'm not talking about unstable, short-term and limited rents," he said.
"in Germany, less than half of people own their own houses. Because of the lease, you can paint the damn house purple, if you like; the landlord might say, eventually, get it back, but it's a two-way agreement with greater flexibility. "
While conditions for tenants are slowly improving, Mr. Ruswin said, there have been recent changes in the state's housing lease law, which allows tenants to have pets. But radical reform is needed to make those who don't have a house "free and flexible."
"We have to change our leases, which are still lagging behind in Australia and are anachronistic. Australia is 50 years behind in comparison with developed countries, and that must change. "
Ruswin is one of Australia's most famous thinkers and founder and CEO of IBISWorld, an industry and economic analysis firm.
He has just published a new book, the Future of our Children, which predicts the future of Australians in areas such as housing, employment, living standards and so on.
"the best hasn't come yet," he said, and Australians' lives will change rapidly in the coming decades and will be better.
He predicts that by the end of the century, the average working week will be about 20 hours, with a greater focus on achievement.
"work has become more interesting and requires more brain use than it used to be," he said. We create more new jobs than those that have disappeared. In the last five years to March 2018, we created nine times as many jobs as we lost. "
"We often hear about jobs that disappear, such as the car industry, but there are few reports about creating more jobs."
Life expectancy will increase, with most of the 1/4 millennials and Z generations living to 100, Ruthwin said.
The longer life expectancy, he says, means a longer career and longer working hours for older people in their 80s. But this may be out of choice and necessity, and most older people work part-time.
"there was a myth that the labor force would run out in the aging process, but that's not possible," he said.
Services, health and hotels will be the two biggest employers in the future, Mr Ruswin said.
He also predicted an unprecedented tourism boom, with increasing Chinese tourists and a chance for Australia to make a fortune.
At the same time, Ruswin says the term "employee" will die out in the future because people are more likely to work on long-term contractors than on a full-time job at a company. This model could bring enormous freedom and flexibility.
As more and more driverless cars, car ownership will gradually decline.
Housework and daily chores also disappear from most people's lives and are outsourced to others.