Two years ago, the National Housing Accord was announced with the promise of delivering more homes for Australians, yet after 730 days of promises, the Minns Labor Government remains 40% behind its commitment of 377,000 new homes by 2029.
Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Chris Rath said the second anniversary of the Accord should be a wake-up call for a government that has made housing one of its signature promises but is delivering one of its signature failures.
“Two years into the Housing Accord, Labor is nowhere near where it promised to be and NSW first homebuyers and families are paying the price,” Mr Rath said.
“Instead of celebrating progress, the Minns Government is presiding over one of the biggest housing delivery failures in recent history.”
Mr Rath also said Labor appear more interested in hiding the problem than fixing it.
“Last year’s Budget Papers included a graph tracking housing completions. This year, it has conveniently disappeared. You don’t delete the scoreboard when you’re winning, you delete it when the numbers expose your failure.”
Chris Minns needs to be building around 75,000 homes a year to reach his housing target. But the last time Labor delivered more than 50,000 housing completions was in 2000.
“The last time Labor could boast about housing completions was when Cathy Freeman was winning gold at the Sydney Olympics,” Mr Rath said.
Despite housing affordability remaining the number one issue facing young people and families, last week’s Budget contained no meaningful new measures to improve project feasibility, reduce government taxes and charges, or remove the hurdles preventing homes from being built.
“40% of the cost of a new home in Sydney is fees, taxes and charges. Labor had the chance to tackle the extra costs sinking completion numbers and making projects unviable, but instead delivered more of the same,” Mr Rath said.
The Liberals and Nationals have a plan to boost housing supply and invest in infrastructure across NSW. It includes:
- Pausing Labor’s $12,000 tax on every new home until 30 June 2029.
- Cutting payroll tax for small and medium construction businesses.
- Repurposing the Long Bay Jail site for 12,000 new homes.
- State-led rezoning in Erskineville, Macdonaldtown, Newtown and St Peters for 10,000 new homes.
- Delivering the Camellia-Rosehill Place Strategy for a further 10,000 new homes.
- A $2 billion Community Benefit Fund to fund local roads, parks, schools and services tied to actual housing delivery.
Be the first to comment