According to a parliamentary committee, the federal government would be well advised to look into Tesla's Hyperloop - a high-speed rail - as a means of resolving housing affordability issues.
John Alexander, Liberal MP and chair of the committee, tabled a report in parliament on Tuesday (February 7th), in which it was argued that vision and innovation are needed to replace political arguments that are having a debilitating impact on the industry, Domain reports.
New ways to promote decentralisation, seek proposals for a high-speed rail network and investigate options for private funding through value capture were recommended to the government by a group of coalition and Labor MPs, as well as an independent.
Monitoring of the development of the supersonic transport system Hyperloop was also suggested in conjunction with states and territories, with a feasibility assessment when appropriate.
The current express passenger train rail link between Sydney and Melbourne is the fourth busiest route in the world and takes around 11 hours. Because of this, high speed rail has been floated as an infrastructure project in Australia since the early 1980s.
Decreasing commute times, decentralising the working population and developing regional centres are all considered enticing factors in favour of such a move.
A high-speed train travelling at 350 kmph would take three hours from Sydney to Melbourne. Compared to this, a journey between the two cities on a Hyperloop system could bas as fast as 50 minutes.
Mr Alexander said housing supply would naturally increase if such infrastructure developments were introduced.
"This plan of urban renewal and decentralisation, facilitated by strategic planning of infrastructure, will deliver an abundant affordable housing supply for generations to come," he remarked.
