KEY POINTS:
CANBERRA - Nurses, teachers, firemen and other essential workers in education, health and emergency services can no longer afford to buy homes in Australia's major cities, says a report.
The BankWest key worker housing affordability report warns the crisis is biting into vital community services, adding to the pressure on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.
Rudd is under increasing fire over the soaring cost of living, especially the impact of petrol prices on households burdened by interest rate rises.
The report pointed to further problems with its finding that houses were too expensive for key workers to buy in 80 per cent of capital city council areas, up from 50 per cent in 2002.
"The overwhelming majority of nurses, police officers, teachers, firefighters and ambulance officers trying to buy a house in a capital city cannot afford to live in the communities they serve," BankWest retail services chief executive Ian Cornfield said.
In Sydney, Chamber of Commerce executive director Patricia Forsythe said the business sector already knew the difficulty of recruiting key workers, including cleaners, cashiers and waiters.
"Demand for housing is outstripping supply. We need to reform the planning system if we are serious about housing affordability."
The federal Government is encouraging developers to build tens of thousands of low-rent units.
BankWest said house prices had increased by 66 per cent in the past six years, compared with an average 31 per cent rise in key workers' wages.
Nurses faced the biggest hurdles: based on their average salary of A$48,661 ($59,111), they could afford a home in only 4 per cent of the nation's capital city local government areas. In 2002, they could have bought in more than a quarter of those areas.
Ambulance officers had been priced out of 90 per cent of capital city local government areas, and police officers, the most fortunate of the key workers surveyed, would be able to buy in less than 20 per cent.
While units were more affordable than houses, even these were out of the reach of most. The median price for units was too high for key workers in more than 40 per cent of the nation's capital city local government areas.
The report said the worst cities were Canberra, Sydney and Perth.
In Canberra, median house prices were too expensive for key workers across the entire city, and 93 per cent of council areas were beyond reach in Sydney and Perth.
The report said the crisis extended beyond major cities. More than a quarter of regional cities were not longer affordable for key workers, especially for nurses, who would not be able to buy homes in 63 per cent.
As well, the report said the median house price in 15 per cent of local government areas in towns and rural areas was too high.
