One of the first big infrastructure programs Premier Nathan Rees announced under his state stimulus package was the proposed development of thousands of social housing units. Under that program, the Illawarra stood to benefit, with one of the projects earmarked for Market St, Wollongong.

As we illustrated on Saturday with our expose on public housing at Warrawong, the condition of some stock in the region is Third World. So the provision of more affordable and modern public housing has definite merit.

However, closer inspection of the Market St proposal reveals it as a rush job that bypasses appropriate planning considerations. Indeed, because it is a designated NSW infrastructure project, it does not have to meet normal council or state planning regulations.

It is difficult to assess the project as anything but an overdevelopment of the site. It marginally exceeds the council height limit, but the setbacks and allocation of only 11 car parks for 58 units certainly do not stand the test of good planning.

And there is one glaring hypocrisy in the State Government acting unilaterally on this housing project. Didn't it sack Wollongong City Council for "systemic corruption" in the organisation, notably for the planning department's lack of appropriate handling of some development applications?