The Albanese government has a new mantra to describe the housing crisis, which is showing no signs of abating: homes have simply become “too hard to build” in Australia. The prime minister and senior ministers are taking aim at what they are calling a “thicket” of red tape and regulation, which is making it “uneconomic” to build affordable housing. Undoubtedly, the great Australian dream is further out of reach, with average house prices now above A$1 million for the first time.