‘Budget needs to target housing choice and affordability in regions’ By Maja Garaca Djurdjevic 05 May 2021 | 1 minute read SHARE While the upcoming federal budget is expected to focus on job creation, experts believe an opportunity exists for a “population and infrastructure reset” to relieve pressure on Australia’s largest cities. RMIT associate professor Andrew Butt has called on the government to recognise the COVID-born opportunities for regional planning and development ahead of the 11 May federal budget. In fact, Mr Butt believes that Australia’s largest cities are bursting at the seams and that now could be the perfect time to relieve this pressure.