Building us out of a

By working together with the government to help deliver 10,000 new homes by 2032, Tasmanian engineers can help achieve longterm sustainability and prosperity of our community, writes Darren Beattie

Adequate housing is recognised as a basic human right by the United Nations. For housing to be “adequate” it must meet minimum criteria including, security of tenure, affordability, accessibility, and availability of services.

Tasmania’s current housing crisis has left many families and individuals with insecure accommodation and many others unable to afford rent as well as other living expenses.

In the rich society in which we live – both in this state and nationally – this is simply unacceptable.

Only by significantly increasing Tasmania’s sustainable housing supply will homes become cheaper and more secure.

Engineers Australia (Tasmania) fully supports the Tasmanian government’s $1.5bn plan to deliver 10,000 new homes by 2032.

New housing developments must be envisaged and designed to avoid the mistakes of low-cost housing projects of the past.

We must provide Tasmanian families the necessary supports to escape the poverty trap. In practice this means new housing stock should be built economically and run sustainably, to reduce electricity and fuel bills, while reducing climate impacts to assist Tasmania maintain its privileged net zero status.

Designing houses using insulating building materials and technologies, passive heating and cooling design principles, solar panels, smart inverters and battery storage, including facilities for electric vehicles, allows tenants to become active participants and beneficiaries from opportunities provided by the 21st century power grid.

Similarly, servicing new housing stock with fast and reliable broadband services is critical in connecting people for their work, their educational opportunities and their social networks.

All new developments must have the proper infrastructure – effective and efficient transport networks will be critical to ensure housing projects are not left isolated on the urban fringe.

Modern water, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure will be needed to protect health and the environment.

Government housing projects will need to co-ordinate closely with local councils and co-operate with long term strategic planning initiatives – like the 30 Greater Hobart Plan – to optimise results.

Commercialised engineering innovations can help to make low-carbon construction an economic reality. Low carbon can be considered at all stages of the build from the quarrying of raw materials to the manufacture of for example aluminium, steel and cement.

The use of construction machinery and the transport of materials to wholesalers and the building sites are all areas the construction industry and government can work together to encourage adaption of innovative materials and methods to reduce carbon emissions.

For example, it is possible that timber framing is more sustainable and modular construction can be used to speed up the construction and assembly of the finished home, making it more environmental and efficient.

Engineers Australia also supports the government’s plan to establish a new housing authority run by a skillsbased board, with the powers and functions needed to meet the housing commitments.

Engineers can provide strong technical leadership to help speed up the delivery of 10,000 new sustainable homes and all the local infrastructure and services to support this significant increase in homes.

WE CAN:

PROVIDE expertise and project management essential to the building industry in the areas of civil, structural, environmental, and electrical engineering.

ENSURE that standards are met so that new houses are structurally well built on sound foundations, and are safe and healthy to live in.

PLAY a part to help make sure the services to new houses, such as water and electricity are future-proofed by being both and sustainable and affordable, using renewable energy and low-water use technology.

It is engineers who will provide strategic leadership for planned access to new houses and adequate community health and recreational services in new and expanded communities.

By working together, we can achieve the long-term sustainability and prosperity of our overall Tasmanian community.

Darren Beattie is the general manager of Engineers Australia (Tasmania).