The NSW Land and Housing Corporation added no new dwellings to its stock of public housing in the Illawarra in two years, figures show.
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Wollongong MP Paul Scully obtained the data after asking questions on notice in parliament regarding the supply of public housing in the Illawarra.
As at September 30, the LAHC was forecast to deliver about 214 new public housing dwellings in Wollongong between 2022 and 2026, subject to timely tenant relocations, planning approvals and project funding.
However, none were planned for Shellharbour or Kiama.
Meanwhile, the Aboriginal Housing Office will add eight new dwellings in Wollongong and three in Shellharbour to its stock in 2022-23 and 2023-24.
A Department of Planning and Environment spokesperson said Wollongong experienced the most demand for new public housing, while the AHO considered such factors as feedback from local housing providers and Aboriginal household growth projections when determining where it would deliver new houses.
"The NSW Land and Housing Corporation continually reviews the State's portfolio of social housing assets to identify opportunities to deliver more and better housing throughout NSW, including Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama local government areas, in line with priority waitlist demand data," they said.
In 2019-20 and 2020-21, there were no new LAHC houses added to the stock anywhere in the region. The previous three years saw 65 in Wollongong, seven in Shellharbour and none in Kiama.
In the same five years, there were five new AHO dwellings each in Wollongong and Shellharbour.
Wollongong and Shellharbour both rank in the top 25 per cent of all NSW local government areas for projected Aboriginal household growth over the next 10 years, while the Kiama area is in low demand.
Meanwhile, in that same period there were 122 LAHC dwellings sold or demolished in Wollongong and 23 in Shellharbour.
"The NSW government continues to work with the private sector, community housing providers and across all levels of government to identify opportunities to increase housing across the state," the department spokesperson said.
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Natalie Croxon
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
Reporter at the Illawarra Mercury, mostly covering social affairs. Previously of the Bendigo Advertiser, Northern Daily Leader and Quirindi Advocate. Our Watch award winner.
