Sir,
Your correspondent Suryan R. Chandrasegaran says current house prices, which form “an impenetrable barrier” to home ownership, are the result of a “free market” (News Weekly, April 29, 2006).
Nothing could be further from the truth. Current house prices are the direct result of a vast array of government policies and regulations – as far removed from a “free market” as one could get.
Urban growth boundaries, restricted use zonings and other land management and planning powers have conspired to severely restrict supply, thus sending land prices through the roof.
A free market is the solution, not the problem.
Bob Day,
Adelaide, SA
