Jonathan O'Brien

The Problem with Urban Planning: a professional silo is gatekeeping our nation's growth. My new essay w/ @inflectionptswk The problem at the heart of planning is not political—it's professional. 🧵

Here is (yet another) downward sloping demand curve for housing. When the cost of housing increases, holding income and population constant, demand for housing falls. from @matthewplan.

Brunswick and Brunswick East are pumping. Brunswick West is not. It’s grim. So many vacant shopfronts. And it’s because of zoning.

🎟️ SELLING OUT FAST🎟️ Come to our launch event — "Moving the Needle: How Reform Gets Done in Australia" Australian reformers are plagued by a culture of hesitance. It's time to learn from our successes past and present, and make progress a reality for our nation once again.

The flow of new research finding that zoning makes housing expensive continues, getting broader and very detailed. A state-of-the-art paper by @vincent_rollet . 1/5 vrollet.github.io/files/city_str…

YES

Okay let's clarify some things. Link below

This 3-part podcast series on New Zealand's housing crisis is a must-listen for the housing policy wonks. Australia's story is slightly different, but the core ideas and themes remain the same.👇

Rentseeker of the week:

Seven years ahead of the curve on this one. ☺️😉

Academia must be the only industry where extremely high-skilled PhD students spend much of their time doing low value work (like data cleaning). A 1st year management consultant outsources this immediately. Imagine the productivity gains if PhDs could focus on thinking

People keep sending me this saying “go Australia!”. My read is the complete opposite. How the hell is US citizen looking for jobs in ITALY over Australia? Why are we an order of magnitude worse than Britain?

When I worked in the RBA building no-one expressed appreciation for its heritage. But enormous costs are now being incurred to preserve these tiny heritage benefits. Our dysfunctional heritage legislation needs to require costs be compared with benefits. afr.com/policy/economy…

Progress shouldn’t be rationed - abundance should be the goal. In the inaugural edition of “Inflection Points”, I outline a vision for an Australia with more homes, faster trains, and sensational universities: inflectionpoints.work/articles/the-a… #auspol @inflectionptswk

I can’t believe the US perfected the skyscraper… and then just stopped building towers like this.

People choose the best housing they can find. When government bans housing options, perfect housing doesn't magically appear, people end up in worse situations, often homeless.

CRA increases benefit 1.3m renters today. There are 350k public/social dwellings. Talk of increasing PH has rarely been more than talk. If you want outcomes within years rather than decades (likely many) CRA is the practical solution to renter stress. (Also increase JobSeeker)

Why is there a skull on my desk? 💀 It’s not just for drama. It’s a reminder that we’re not here forever. So let’s use our time wisely: be kind, do the work, and make a difference.

Footy at the the G, trams and laneways, four seasons in a day, and the best coffee in the world. Better luck next time, Sydney.

Unfortunately if we think rent assistance goes straight into the pockets of landlords (the research does not show that as CRA doesn’t go to landlords but can b spent on anything) that likely also means we shouldn’t increase JobSeeker as that will also get absorbed by landlords.

In 1967, a planning permit for a 3-storey apartment building only took 12 pages. In 2025 the same planning permit would run hundreds of pages long. How the machinery of action has rusted — and why we must fix it.