ABOUT THIS PRIORITY
A safe and secure home is a fundamental right many people in Western Sydney are denied. Rates of homelessness and housing insecurity have changed little in recent decades. Worse, the representation of young people and older community members, particularly women, is increasing. This is intolerable, particularly in a country as wealthy as Australia.
The recent recession and related labour market implications will further impact housing affordability across Western Sydney. Without a coordinated, and at-scale, government response to support social housing, profound housing challenges experienced throughout the region risk being exacerbated.
“A safe and secure home is a fundamental right many people in Western Sydney are denied.”
GOOD PERFORMANCE
- $812 million commitment to building and upgrading social and affordable housing
- $291.8 million in 2020-21 ($1.1 billion over 4 years) for specialist homelessness services
- Changes to State Environmental Planning Policy to fast-track social housing projects
- Stamp duty and land tax reform proposals to ‘reduce upfront costs for buyers’
- Rapid re-housing of people experiencing homelessness during the pandemic lockdown
- Affordable housing targets in the Greater Sydney Commission’s district plans
- Extended exhibition time on key housing related strategies to allow proper consideration
POOR PERFORMANCE
- The failure to match Victoria’s $5.3 billion commitment to social housing and job creation
- Missed opportunity to utilise stimulus for large scale social housing investment
- Less than half of the $812 million committed to social housing will be spent this year
- Lack of ambition on, and commitment to, ‘inclusionary zoning’ affordable housing targets
- Problems with social housing quality and responsiveness to maintenance issues
- Failure to transition project ownership or management to community housing providers
- Large scale developments approved with no, or inadequate, transport and infrastructure
- Terrible urban design for heat in endless plains of McMansions
THE VERDICT
In light of the NSW Government’s commentary on the ‘strong and stable’ state of its Budget position, its reluctance to make at-scale stimulus commitments to an issue of demonstrably profound need, like social housing, was questioned by nearly all Mid-Term Report Card respondents. This perception was further articulated via respondent references to the State’s (pre-December 2020) AAA credit rating, and the better-than-expected fiscal recovery setting emerging in early 2021. Surely, ideal platforms for a bold stimulus response.
“The Government’s reluctance to make at-scale stimulus commitments to an issue of demonstrably profound need, like social housing, was questioned.”
Referencing the Victorian Government’s $5.3 billion investment in social housing, one respondent calculated this equated to a $791 per capita (ABS, 2020) investment for Victorians, compared with NSW’s spend of $99 per capita per resident on social housing. The interstate gap was similar with regard to investments made to redress homelessness. Respondents also noted the 43,000 job creation target attached to the Victorian scheme, citing it as a further missed opportunity to support construction jobs.
Almost without exception, the Government was assessed as having failed to seize a generational opportunity to act on an issue of critical importance for Western Sydney and NSW more broadly. With two years remaining in this term, the opportunity for action, at-scale, still exists.
The greater promotion of a principles-based approach to planning is a subtle yet important change. Equally, the Government’s commitment to breaking down patterns of housing ‘segregation according to income bracket’ and tenure type is encouraging. If properly funded and supported across portfolios - and done with (not to) communities - such an approach could prove a vitally important shift for a region like Western Sydney.
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