There's some pretty poor economists out there, and don't underestimate ethe ability of journalists to find someone conforming to their biases.

I think giving the government an interest in keeping house prices high is an awful idea and we should get over this obsession with homeownership.

problem is, politically it is feasible for government to support policy that superficially appears to help home buyers, but also props up housing prices. like all these "give the first home buyers more money / access to loans / reduced stamp duty" policies

a government with an actual serious policy to increase housing supply, which should cause housing prices to fall, might have a lot of trouble getting elected or staying elected (only 1/3 of australian households rent, but that'll increase over time due to wealth inequality)