Bold reforms to deliver improved housing affordability are largely absent from the NSW Budget, the Property Council laments.
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Property Council Illawarra regional director Michelle Guido said the budget was a “mixed bag for the Illawarra”.
“We welcome the $244 million for upgrades of the Princes Highway, which includes $101 million to commence the Princes Highway upgrade between Berry and Bomaderry, $65.6 million for the bypass of Albion Park Rail, and $15.3 million to complete planning for the new Shoalhaven River bridge at Nowra,” she said.
“However, it is disappointing that there was no announcement about further funding for the much-needed Mount Ousley Road Interchange.”
Despite being flagged as a priority by Gladys Berejiklian when she became Premier, there was little new announced to address the issue of housing affordability in the state budget.
Rapidly increasing house prices in recent years saw a $4.3 billion housing affordability package included in last year’s budget.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet’s second budget appears to mark the end of record stamp duty revenue, with the 2018/19 budget predicated on a fall in future stamp duty receipts of $6 billion over the forward years.
Much of this fall in revenue is attributed to an increase in first home buyers accessing stamp duty concessions, coupled with moderating property values and a reduction in sale volumes.
Property Council NSW deputy executive director Cheryl Thomas said there was nothing in the budget to bolster the achievement of the Premier’s objective to see 61,000 houses built annually in NSW to 2021.
“It is a major challenge to achieve these numbers and requires continued support,” she said.
“We mustn’t lose our focus on providing enough homes for our growing population – this requires a long-term policy commitment, not a flash-in-the-pan ‘one-time’ policy focus.
“We also need more to be done to address the increasing cost of housing construction, especially the rise in local infrastructure costs which can add more than 10 per cent to the cost of new housing.”
Ms Thomas said a cohesive, long-term housing strategy to support the state’s growing population should also include support for the establishment of a build-to-rent sector.
Keiran Thomas, the Urban Development Institute of Australia's Greater Western Sydney & Southern Region manager said the budget is big on infrastructure, but small on affordability.
“A PwC report released last week shows a 10 per cent drop in housing supply across NSW will lead to a loss of 190,000 jobs and $25bn in GSP over five years,” he said.
“One of our concerns is apprentices in construction trades will have less work unless there’s a good level of supply.
“The Illawarra has potential for growth which the government should keep pushing ahead with.”
Meanwhile, the state government has pledged more than $61 million in new funding over the next four years to implement its Homelessness Strategy.
The NSW Budget has committed $1 billion for homelessness services over the next four years to support new and existing initiatives.
St Vincent de Paul Society’s Wollongong Diocesan Central Council executive officer Peter Quarmby said the new Homelessness Strategy is “quite Sydney-centric”, but hopes the region can still benefit from some initiatives.
Budget measures for NSW include:
Housing affordability
*$31.6 million ($92.8 million over three years) to address housing affordability, through the Office of Housing Coordination, by expanding Planned Precincts and Priority Growth Areas.
*$31 million over ten years to provide low interest loans to councils to invest in infrastructure to address housing affordability.
*$25 million ($100 million over four years) for the acquisition of green and open spaces to improve the liveability of NSW communities.
Community Housing
*$2.4 billion in capital spending over the four years to 2021-22 for housing and social infrastructure.
*Communities Plus Program (including the $2.2 billion Ivanhoe project) and the Social and Affordable Housing Fund ($1.1 billion).