Migration and housing: the great debate

Migration and housing: The great debate

Date: Wednesday, 09 September 2026

Time: 5:45pm - 7:00pm

Location: Nelson Meers Foundation Auditorium, Chau Chak Wing Museum

This year’s annual housing debate challenges our experts and audience to consider whether migration could solve Australia’s contemporary housing crisis. We’ll be inviting you to open your minds for this debate where the winning team is decided by the strength of their persuasion in this Intelligence Squared inspired event. 

Speakers include

Philip Vivian, Managing Director, Bates Smart

Dr Kritika Rana, Western Sydney University

Dr Edgar Liu, City Futures Research Centre, UNSW

Maiy Azize, Deputy Director, Anglicare Australia

Matt Grudnoff, Senior Economist, The Australia Institute

Chris Leishman, Professor of Property and Housing Economics, Adelaide University

Commentary

Millie Muroi, Writer, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age

Chair by: 

Nicole Gurran, Director, Henry Halloran Urban and Regional Research Initiative

Sydney Festival 7-11 September 

National events September – October 2026

Translocality describes the interconnectedness between different places and people, beyond national boundaries. The circulation of people, goods, knowledge and capital, though an ancient process, is facilitated and impacted by new technologies, bringing new opportunities and challenges for cities and regions. Increasingly important, a translocal lens highlights these deep and intersecting relationships between people and places over time – from the legacies of colonisation and environmental change to contemporary patterns of migration and cultural diversity. Through panel discussions, debates, exhibitions, and tours, and featuring thought leaders from academia, the arts, industry, and civil society, the 2026 Festival of translocal Urbanism examines and celebrates the complex social, economic and environmental connections between local and global communities.