Latest news with #HousingDeliveryAuthority
The Age
28-05-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Momentum builds to overhaul major housing handbrake
A bipartisan bid to reform the state's controversial Environmental Protection and Assessment Act is gaining momentum, with NSW Premier Chris Minns hoping to push the changes through within months even as Liberals are wary of a political ambush. The reforms, which could be introduced to parliament as early as the August sitting, would enshrine the transport-oriented development zones and the Housing Delivery Authority, help address the housing crisis, and come after the government's audacious Rosehill Racecourse proposal was shot down by Australian Turf Club members. Planning Minister Paul Scully and Liberal counterpart Scott Farlow have been meeting since the premier signalled in January he was open to bipartisan reform of the 46-year-old, 327-page EP&A act. The act has been criticised by developers, governments and councils for being overly complex, allowing anti-development councils to undermine housing supply while creating a field day for consultants. Senior Liberal sources privy to discussions said changes to the Complying Development Certificates process, allowing for low-impact development and code-based assessments, were under consideration. This would involve removing councils' ability to assess on subjective merit. Loading CDCs provide low-impact projects that meet a specific set of criteria to have simultaneous planning and construction approval. Under code-based assessments, proposals are assessed against a prescriptive set of rules rather than on merit. Other proposals under consideration included legislating the Housing Delivery Authority, the three-person committee to accelerate large-scale developments by bypassing councils, along with installing pro-housing objectives in the act, a move favoured by both sides. Urban Taskforce chief executive Tom Forrest has publicly backed the idea, and independent upper house MP Mark Latham proposed these amendments during earlier reforms of the act in March. While shot down, both Farlow and Labor indicated they would be supportive of the move later on.
Sydney Morning Herald
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Momentum builds to overhaul major housing handbrake
A bipartisan bid to reform the state's controversial Environmental Protection and Assessment Act is gaining momentum, with NSW Premier Chris Minns hoping to push the changes through within months even as Liberals are wary of a political ambush. The reforms, which could be introduced to parliament as early as the August sitting, would enshrine the transport-oriented development zones and the Housing Delivery Authority, help address the housing crisis, and come after the government's audacious Rosehill Racecourse proposal was shot down by Australian Turf Club members. Planning Minister Paul Scully and Liberal counterpart Scott Farlow have been meeting since the premier signalled in January he was open to bipartisan reform of the 46-year-old, 327-page EP&A act. The act has been criticised by developers, governments and councils for being overly complex, allowing anti-development councils to undermine housing supply while creating a field day for consultants. Senior Liberal sources privy to discussions said changes to the Complying Development Certificates process, allowing for low-impact development and code-based assessments, were under consideration. This would involve removing councils' ability to assess on subjective merit. Loading CDCs provide low-impact projects that meet a specific set of criteria to have simultaneous planning and construction approval. Under code-based assessments, proposals are assessed against a prescriptive set of rules rather than on merit. Other proposals under consideration included legislating the Housing Delivery Authority, the three-person committee to accelerate large-scale developments by bypassing councils, along with installing pro-housing objectives in the act, a move favoured by both sides. Urban Taskforce chief executive Tom Forrest has publicly backed the idea, and independent upper house MP Mark Latham proposed these amendments during earlier reforms of the act in March. While shot down, both Farlow and Labor indicated they would be supportive of the move later on.
Sydney Morning Herald
28-05-2025
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Rosehill rejection: Why did ATC members look a gift horse in the mouth?
Not since 100-to-1 outsider Prince of Penzance defied the odds to win the 2015 Melbourne Cup has a result so deeply confounded established racing logic. The rejection by members of the Australian Turf Club of a $5 billion proposal to sell Rosehill Gardens Racecourse to the NSW government comes close. The prospect of 25,000 new homes on a site situated in the heart of Australia's fastest-growing region were stakes Premier Chris Minns had no option to mount. Under the National Housing Accord he has committed to delivering 377,000 new homes across NSW by 2029. Weigh up the racecourse's adjacency to a newly-constructed light rail network, a coming metro line and a surging jobs hub in Parramatta, and the odds looked impossible to ignore. The NSW government has made no secret of the centrality of housing supply to its agenda. From its establishment last year of the Housing Delivery Authority, through to its pursuit of its Transport Oriented Development initiative, its colours were clear and unambiguous. Recent measures by the premier to upscale the state's production of modular homes – and the contingent manufacturing jobs boost – only upped the stakes. As did the commitment from Peter V'landys, chief executive and board member of Racing NSW, to 'ensure the revenue derived from the [Rosehill] proposal is reinvested to benefit the racing industry as a whole'. Even these assurances couldn't get the proposal over the line. Nor did the prospect of around $2 billion in upgrades to other racetracks, or the sweetener of food, beverage and membership fee concessions. If I know punters' logic, the reason might lie in sentiment, rather than logic. Let me tell you why. Loading My grandpop, Harry, was a veteran of the 1945 New Guinea campaign. He would forlornly recall he was 'too tall' to be a jockey. Still, he remained a lifelong horseracing devotee. He lived in a fibro housing commission house in Granville, due to the state's last great housing shortage post-World War II. It was only five minutes from Rosehill racetrack, where he would periodically venture to, 'see a man about a dog'. Normally unassuming, Harry would harshly shush all of us grandkids when the races came on his 'transistor'. Either that, or he'd send us to the corner shop to buy him a packet of Rothmans Extra Mild cigarettes. 'Get some lollies' with the change he would add. When I was older, I asked Harry in gambling parlance what the 'tells' were in backing a horse trackside. 'Form be damned', he would rail. 'If you see a horse in the mounting yard sweating too much on a chilly day, give it a miss', he advised. 'Ears up, ears up!' That was his favoured sign. An alert, edgy horse was a sure bet, pop assured me.
The Age
28-05-2025
- Business
- The Age
Rosehill rejection: Why did ATC members look a gift horse in the mouth?
Not since 100-to-1 outsider Prince of Penzance defied the odds to win the 2015 Melbourne Cup has a result so deeply confounded established racing logic. The rejection by members of the Australian Turf Club of a $5 billion proposal to sell Rosehill Gardens Racecourse to the NSW government comes close. The prospect of 25,000 new homes on a site situated in the heart of Australia's fastest-growing region were stakes Premier Chris Minns had no option to mount. Under the National Housing Accord he has committed to delivering 377,000 new homes across NSW by 2029. Weigh up the racecourse's adjacency to a newly-constructed light rail network, a coming metro line and a surging jobs hub in Parramatta, and the odds looked impossible to ignore. The NSW government has made no secret of the centrality of housing supply to its agenda. From its establishment last year of the Housing Delivery Authority, through to its pursuit of its Transport Oriented Development initiative, its colours were clear and unambiguous. Recent measures by the premier to upscale the state's production of modular homes – and the contingent manufacturing jobs boost – only upped the stakes. As did the commitment from Peter V'landys, chief executive and board member of Racing NSW, to 'ensure the revenue derived from the [Rosehill] proposal is reinvested to benefit the racing industry as a whole'. Even these assurances couldn't get the proposal over the line. Nor did the prospect of around $2 billion in upgrades to other racetracks, or the sweetener of food, beverage and membership fee concessions. If I know punters' logic, the reason might lie in sentiment, rather than logic. Let me tell you why. Loading My grandpop, Harry, was a veteran of the 1945 New Guinea campaign. He would forlornly recall he was 'too tall' to be a jockey. Still, he remained a lifelong horseracing devotee. He lived in a fibro housing commission house in Granville, due to the state's last great housing shortage post-World War II. It was only five minutes from Rosehill racetrack, where he would periodically venture to, 'see a man about a dog'. Normally unassuming, Harry would harshly shush all of us grandkids when the races came on his 'transistor'. Either that, or he'd send us to the corner shop to buy him a packet of Rothmans Extra Mild cigarettes. 'Get some lollies' with the change he would add. When I was older, I asked Harry in gambling parlance what the 'tells' were in backing a horse trackside. 'Form be damned', he would rail. 'If you see a horse in the mounting yard sweating too much on a chilly day, give it a miss', he advised. 'Ears up, ears up!' That was his favoured sign. An alert, edgy horse was a sure bet, pop assured me.
West Australian
21-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
‘10.6 years': Dire reality for Aussies revealed in State of Housing System report
The Australian dream of homeownership is looking more hopeless than ever. A median-income household now needs to save for 10.6 years just to afford a deposit and start a whole new challenge of servicing a new mortgage, the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council's annual State of the Housing System 2025 report shows. It notes that mortgage repayments continue to increase faster than incomes, and affordability continues to deteriorate though at a slower pace compared with 2023. About 50 per cent of median household income was needed to meet repayments for new mortgages in 2024, according to the report. It does not look good for renters either, as 33 per cent of median wages are needed to meet rental costs in new leases. Rental stress has affected more than 50 per cent of lower-income renter households in 2023. Sixty per cent of these households also experienced stress the year before, showing how persistent the issue is. Only 14 per cent of new homes sold in 2023-2024 were affordable for the median-income household, the lowest on record. NSW residents have drawn the short straw, as new mortgages and home deposits remain the least affordable in Australia, whereas the Northern Territory has the most affordable mortgages and home deposits. Rents in regional Queensland were the least affordable, but rents in Canberra were the most affordable. New housing supply is the lowest in a decade, and the 1.2 million target for new houses to be completed during the Housing Accord period will not be met – even under optimistic economic estimates, the report says. No state or territory will meet their target, and supply is insufficient to meet underlying demand. The report has called for systemic reform, government support measures and industry innovation to address the issues, but the NSW government says it is heading in the right direction. 'The Minns Labor government inherited a system that was working against achieving the Housing Accord targets. It was also never assumed that, given macroeconomic conditions and the costs of construction, it would be a straight line between now and mid-2029,' Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully said. 'We are turning around the system. Planning approvals are 15 per cent faster today than they were in March 2023, the number of applications lodged is up 28 per cent on the same time last year, and NSW has the most homes under construction in the country. 'There are thousands more homes and DAs being finalised that are embracing our planning reforms such as the Housing Delivery Authority and the low and mid-rise policy. We're building a pipeline that will actually deliver homes. 'The State of the Housing System report shows us that we have our work cut out for us, but as a government we've got our priorities right.' Weak supply has been attributed to a lack of commercial feasibility – it costs more for developers to build than what they would earn selling it. Elevated costs, labour shortages, high financing are all constraining supply but should be easing, the report says. Property Council chief executive Mike Zorbas said the report showed the need to increase productivity in the construction sector, simplify planning systems and encourage investment. 'The alarm bell continues to sound on national housing supply,' Mr Zorbas said. 'The sad fact is that many Australians feel that homeownership is out of reach. 'We have seen the federal and state governments co-ordinate their efforts on boosting supply, but more must be done. 'Our skills and planning systems are not yet match fit for this century. 'More than 30 per cent of the cost of a new home is government taxes and charges. 'East coast states have daft foreign investment taxes that are barbed wire to overseas institutions that want to send their money to help Australian companies build the assets our cities need. 'The least cost answer for indebted states is to modernise our planning systems and put measures in place to boost the proportion of skilled workers coming into the country. 'We need to bring forward federal environmental approvals and force power and water providers to stop delaying the delivery of new homes, industrial and commercial assets that our communities need as they grow.'
