The Design Series | Affordable Housing - A WICKED PROBLEM

The Australian economy is being broken by a dysfunctional housing system inflicting long term pain on almost every part of the community. The lack of affordable housing is a ‘decades in the making’ crisis, often referred to as a “wicked problem” because it is complex and multi-dimensional, with no easy or obvious solutions.

We are thrilled to be joined by Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo, Martin Garred, Dan
McKenna and Darren Mew in a two part panel discussion to unpack:
- The wider economic context to the housing affordability crisis;
- Churchill Fellowship research into land use planning recommendations to increase housing diversity and affordability;

PLUS
- Two visionary affordable and sustainable housing models by Nightingale Housing and BlueCHP.

The Design Series is presented by SunCentral and the MET in partnership with key industry groups AIA, AILA, EA, PIA, DIA and SCCA. The Design Series has been created to deliver thought provoking content and facilitate connections across key industry groups from the Arts, Architecture, Digital, Engineering, Environment, Landscape and Planning Sectors.

About the presenters;

Dr Diaswati Mardiasmo - Chief Economist, PRD

As Chief Economist of PRD Real Estate (PRD), Dr Diaswati (Asti) Mardiasmo leads a nation-wide (Australia) research team providing high-quality property, housing, and market research to the PRD Franchises. She brings a multitude of expertise: including economics, public policy, demographics, housing data, future projects and supply of housing, stakeholder engagement and management, and high-level data analysis.

Diaswati has recently been appointed by the Queensland State Government to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games Legacy Committee. Diaswati is a member of the Residential Committee 2023-2024 for the Property Council of Australia, a member of the Reserve Bank of Australia Liaison Program, and sits in the Board of Directors for UPLIFT Affordable Housing company, She has a deep passion for multiculturalism, diversity, and inclusion; reflected in her position on the Board of Directors for Multicultural Australia since 2022.

Martin Garred
Director Civity | Churchill Fellow

Martin is a co-founding Director and Town Planner of Civity, a boutique town planning firm, specialising in providing strategic planning, government advisory and project services across Queensland. Based in Cairns, he drives outcomes that unlock growth in regional Queensland. Having held executive roles in both State and Local government within Australia, Martin is a respected advisor to government, particularly in the fields of strategic planning, growth management and housing policy.

In 2020, Martin was awarded a prestigious Churchill Fellowship to travel to the US, UK, Denmark and Sweden to research land use approaches to assist in addressing Australia's housing affordability crisis.
Martin is also an Executive Committee Member of the Churchill Fellows Association of Queensland and is the Housing Working Group Lead of the PIA QLD Policy and Advocacy Committee.

Churchill Fellow Report | Planning for Diversity 2023

Dan McKenna CEO - Nightingale Housing

Dan has been an employee of Nightingale Housing since its earliest days, having seen the company through all stages of its evolution and a myriad of challenging situations. With experience at Nightingale in various roles and a proven track record in developing a strong team culture, Dan was appointed as the inaugural Chief Executive Officer in 2022. The position allows him to steer the direction of Nightingale’s future whilst also providing the opportunity for a generational leadership change, to build on the learnings of the past six years and consolidate the gains as the organisation plans a large slate of new developments across the country.

Dan previously worked at Breathe Architecture, and was a member of the design team on the first Nightingale project, Nightingale 1. Hence, Dan has a detailed understanding of the architectural aspects that are so broadly associated with Nightingale, as well as the social, financial and managerial aspects.

Darren Mew Executive Manager BlueCHP - Qld&NT

BlueCHP Limited is a not-for-profit developer and Tier 1 Community Housing Provider.
BlueCHP provide Social, Affordable and Disability accommodation to >2,000 residents in Build-to-Rent housing portfolio across the eastern seaboard of Australia. Darren is a member of the QLD State Government Housing Supply Expert Panel and Chairperson of Q Shelter, the peak organisation for the Queensland housing and homelessness sector.

With 25 years’ experience as a property professional, Darren’s career includes senior roles responsible for business development & strategy, project feasibility, design, development and operation, including at Stockland, Springfield Land Corporation and Urbis.

Darren brings pragmatic policy and project responses to QLD’s housing challenges, delivered through collaboration and partnership, challenging all housing sector participants to set the conditions for a seemingly impossible future where every Queenslander has access to affordable housing.