Elizabeth Lee to call on ACT government to provide more land to ease affordability woes

Opposition Leader Elizabeth Lee will make the call in a motion to be presented in the ACT Legislative Assembly on Tuesday.

Ms Lee said demand for housing in the ACT was "significantly exceeding supply". She pointed to a recent land ballot for detached housing in Macnamara which attracted 12,300 applicants for 71 blocks.

"In the face of this unfolding challenge over the past few years, the Labor-Greens government has failed to act; they have failed to hit their own already inadequate land sales targets and failed to plan for and meet demand for detached housing," she said.

"Despite the overwhelming demand for land to build detached housing, the Labor-Greens government only plans to release 4171 blocks over the next five years."

Ms Lee's motion will call for the Barr government to use its "policy levers" to ease the housing affordability crisis, including the release of more land.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr recently rejected claims that the ACT government had much control over house prices in the territory.

Mr Barr told an annual reports hearing earlier in the month that the government's land release program represented less than 2 per cent of the total market.

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Ms Lee will also call on the government to commission a new survey on housing choices for Canberrans. She pointed to a 2015 survey which found almost 85 per cent of Canberrans wanted to live in detached housing.

"There is certainly a place for multi-unit dwelling but it should not be the only viable option for Canberrans who clearly want choice when it comes to housing options," she said.

"Canberra, the bush capital should be a city where people can choose to live in a house with a backyard if that's what they prefer and not get forced into high-rise apartment towers."

The Canberra Liberals also called for a housing crisis declaration in November, but this was rejected by the territory government.

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