We asked all the candidates across all the electorates in the Illawarra the same question about housing affordability:
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How will you address housing affordability in the Illawarra?
Here's how they responded, seat by seat.
HEATHCOTE:
Lee Evans (Liberal): The NSW Government has invested $2.8 billion in the 2022 Housing Package - the NSW Government's biggest investment in decades to address end-to-end housing.
This includes $300m to fund supporting infrastructure to enable housing supply, $89m to drive faster planning assessments and $73m to accelerate rezoning.
It also includes $780m for a shared equity scheme to help first home buyers who are teaches, nurses or police to buy their first home sooner.
We have also instructed Landcom to expand their footprint in regional NSW and raise the affordable housing target, including rental and freehold sale, to at least 20 per cent by 2025.
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This Government has committed to 30 per cent affordable and diverse housing on Transport Asset Holding Entity of NSW (TAHE) sites.
We have implemented the over $1 billion Social and Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF), delivering access to 3,040 homes across NSW, with more to be completed soon.
Cooper Riach (The Greens): Everyone deserves a safe, secure, and affordable home. The current housing system, which puts profit before people's right to a home, needs to change.
Renters need stronger rights to protect them against dodgy landlords, agents and excessive rent hikes. We will introduce a rent freeze immediately to get rents back under control and end unfair no grounds evictions. It's also time that we followed the lead of other countries and gave tenants longer leases so they have a chance to settle into their homes and communities without fear of suddenly having to move.
Anyone who has queued for inspection or attended an auction knows there are not enough affordable houses available. We need a government that will invest in and build significantly more public, social, and affordable homes. If elected to parliament, I will push for big property developers to include at least 30% ongoing affordable housing in all new large private residential developments and ban the sale of public housing and public land that can be used for housing.
The Greens aim for at least 10 pr cent of all dwellings in NSW to be public or not-for-profit social housing, and we will use our influence in the next parliament to resist further privatisation of public housing stock.
WOLLONGONG:
Paul Scully MP (Labor): NSW Labor will also introduce a target of 30 per cent affordable, social, and universal housing on surplus public land. We will target transport land holdings which are close to public transport hubs.
We will charge the Greater Cities Commission to rebalance population and housing growth as it sets new housing targets across the Six Cities Regions, including in the Illawarra and Shoalhaven.
NSW Labor will also cut through the red tape that stands in the way of addressing housing supply. Under a Labor Government, all planning responsibilities other than local government will sit squarely with the Minister for Planning. And that Minister will be in charge of cutting red tape and streamlining what has become a frustrating, confusing, and often unworkable planning process.
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NSW Labor will abolish stamp duty outright for first homebuyers buying a home worth up to $800,000 and a concessional rate for first homebuyers purchasing a property up to $1 million - and there won't be a NSW Liberals' forever tax payable every year on the family home.
NSW will boost housing supply and deliver more affordable rental housing for regional New South Wales, beginning with a pilot 'Build to Rent' program on the South Coast and in the Northern Rivers. Under Labor's plan, Landcom will be tasked with delivering the extra rental stock over two years.
To make renting fairer for the more than 2 million renters in NSW, a NSW Labor Government would introduce measures that provide fairer arrangements for tenants while maintaining protections for property owners.
This would include working with stakeholders to develop a list of reasonable grounds for eviction (such as non-payment of rent); legislating to end secret rent bidding; introducing a streamlined rental bond process that would allow renters to transfer bonds from one property to another while providing owners access to funds they may need; making it easier for renters to have a pet; and introducing a Rental Commissioner to work with government, renters, stakeholders and consumer affairs to support a fairer and more affordable rental system in NSW.
To help to improve existing social housing and expand social housing stock a NSW Labor Government would combine the tenant and asset management responsibilities of the NSW Government into Homes NSW. This merged entity will be better able to drive the delivery of housing options and better manage social housing.
Cath Blakey (The Greens): I recognise housing as an essential human need. When you don't have a secure home it's harder to hold down a job, have continuity in study or manage daily tasks.
As your Greens MP for Wollongong I will act to ensure renters have stronger rights and are protected - making renting a genuine, secure, and affordable option for lifelong renters who have been locked out of private home ownership. After years of advocacy by Greens and the Tenancy Union there is a commitment by all parties to end no grounds evictions, and I will hold whichever party forms government to account to see that they institute these important rental reforms. NSW needs regulation of rent increases, especially outside fixed-term lease periods (during periodic tenancies or between fixed-term leases).
Alongside the Greens spokesperson on Housing, Jenny Leong, I will back the introduction of planning rules that require large-scale new building projects to have 30 per cent affordable long-term rentals. I will push the NSW government to regulate the number and location of short-term rental accommodation in non-hosted dwellings. Non-hosted Air BNB properties should be at the very least required to register as a business and pay tax accordingly.
Wollongong has an above average proportion of residential dwellings that are public housing - about 7.5 per cent of compared to 4 per cent across the state. But much of the public housing is old and neglected, so that tenants are exposed to mould and chronic damp from leaky roofs. It is disgraceful that the NSW government considers Land and Housing Corp as an "off-budget" agency, required to manage their housing stock through "asset recycling" rather than continued public investment. Since 2011, the Liberal National government has sold off more than $3 billion worth of social housing across NSW. That could have funded the construction of 10,000 new dwellings. But from 2016-2021 - in a 5 year period - only just over 2,000 social housing dwellings were completed under the government's Community Plus program. As your Greens MP for Wollongong I will oppose the sell off of public housing and make the parliament vote on any sales of public lands and properties worth over $1 million. I will push the NSW government to invest in 10,000 new public and social homes each year across NSW for the next 10 years. T
Australia is in an inflation spiral driven by excessive price rises and corporate profiteering. Clearly it's not wages that are causing inflation. For most working people wages have been suppressed for over a decade, while CEO bonuses continue to rise. I will advocate for the federal government to tax excessive corporate profits to ease inflation and fund essential public services. This intervention can avert RBA rate rises.
As your Greens City Councillor for Ward 2 in Wollongong, I am proud that Council has a $1.3m partnership with Head Start Homes (HSH) to support ten local residents on low to moderate incomes to get into the property market. The Head Start Pledge home loan is guaranteed by HSH, removing the need for customers to save for a deposit or pay mortgage insurance. The Heat Start Homes loan applications are open to Wollongong residents eligible to be on social housing waiting list. It supports single mums, First Nations Peoples, and Community Housing families in long-term rentals to buy their home.
As your Greens MP for Wollongong I will also push for investment in specialist homelessness services so that someone going through relationship break-up or an end of lease doesn't end up homeless.
The Greens platform to make housing affordable is published here: https://greens.org.au/nsw/makehousingaffordable2023
KEIRA:
Kit Docker (The Greens): My first priority as the Greens candidate for Keira was to meet with local housing and homelessness services to get a better understanding of how we are placed as a region. The picture they painted about the state of housing in the Illawarra was dire. Services which are already underfunded and overstretched are helping thousands of households across the Illawarra with many more being turned away due to lack of housing stock.
As a lifelong renter, it's clear to me that security and certainty around housing is absolutely key to anyone wanting to get ahead and live a dignified life. But government policy at all levels has turned houses from a home into a vessel for investment which disregards an individual's basic human right to shelter.
If elected to the NSW parliament I will work with my fellow Greens MP's to pursue bold and lasting change around housing policy. The Greens will be using the balance of power to push the next government to:
- Temporarily suspend rent increases and Stop Unfair Evictions.
- Massively Invest in Affordable Housing and require big property developers to set aside 30% of dwellings for affordable housing in all new large developments.
- Create 100,000 new homes.
- Rescue Regional Housing.
- Put housing first and end homelessness.
- Ensure homes for the community, not short term holiday letting.
- Tackle economic inequality and deliver affordable housing.
- Follow other jurisdictions around the world in providing mortgage holders with greater choice by establishing the Public Bank for NSW.
Ryan Park MP (Labor): Housing affordability has become a leading issue for family young families in the Illawarra. Labor understands the challenges so many people face in terms of accessing appropriate housing, that's why we have committed to a mandatory requirement for 30 per cent of all homes built on surplus government land to be set aside for social, affordable and universal housing.
Labor understands the stress of trying to purchase your first home. We want more singles, couples and families realising this dream. Under a Minns Labor Government, any property purchased under $800,000 will have absolutely no stamp duty, and any property purchased up to $1 million will have a reduced rate. What we will not do is saddle first home buyers with a new, yearly tax bill that increases every year.
When we have rising interest rates, rising cost of living, rising electricity prices, the last thing first home buyers need is a forever tax on their homes.
We also understand that for many people rental affordability is also an issue. We will ban the practice of secret rent-bidding, charge the Greater Cities Commission to review and rebalance population and housing growth by setting new housing targets matched to infrastructure and protecting tenants from unfair evictions by creating reasonable grounds for ending a lease.
I know how important and difficult housing affordability has become, and these measures help to ensure every person has access to a safe and affordable roof over their head, regardless of whether you rent or own your own home.
SHELLHARBOUR:
Jamie Dixon (The Greens): If we want to live in a vibrant economic environment, we need to align housing, planning, and energy policies to ensure that our current, and emerging, workforce can afford to live in the Illawarra. Shellharbour is one of the fastest growing regions in NSW in terms of housing, but very little of it is financially accessible to locals, whether in terms of renting or buying.
The Greens will cap rents in areas surrounding significant infrastructure such as CBDs, hospitals and manufacturing zones, so that front line and essential workers can afford to live close to their jobs. This capping will be linked to award wage conditions in the relevant sectors. We will legislate against no cause evictions, and increase the minimum length of tenancy to provide renters with housing security.
In terms of new developments, the Greens will begin upping the percentage of social and affordable housing on all new developments towards 30 per cent, and reintroduce the developer contributions scheme, to fund essential social infrastructure.
The Greens planning policy also includes a review of building standards, so that renewable energy and water saving measures come as standard in new dwellings, reducing the ongoing financial burden of home ownership, and increasing the long-term affordability of home ownership.
KIAMA:
Tonia Gray (The Greens): Over 30 years of inequality in our villages, towns and cities has increased dramatically. The vulnerable, the young, the poor, the elderly, the disadvantaged and single, elderly women are roadblocked out of decent housing.
Against this backdrop, my platform will:
- Require 30 per cent affordable housing in all new developments
- Personally, I would like to see we include free or heavily subsidised housing for essential health workers
- Establish systemic renter protections; enforce habitability/liveability of homes; end no-fault evictions, and control rent hikes to CPI
- Encourage cooperatives and co-living wherever possible
- And work towards assisting affected residents' with their class action(s) against dodgy developers.
Katelin McInerney (Labor): There is no doubt that our housing sector is in crisis.
I am hearing every day from homeless service providers across our region that they are being completely overwhelmed by an unprecedented level of demand.
Labor has a plan to build more social housing with a new build to rent scheme using surplus government land across the South Coast.
This scheme will help take the pressure of the local housing market and work to make sure everybody can afford to live in our region.
Labor will also Abolish the NSW Governments forever tax on the family home and remove or reduce stamp duty for 95 per cent first home buyers.
These will accompany Labor's comprehensive rental policy package which includes transferrable bonds and banning the practice of secret rent bidding.
The Sustainable Australia Party provided the following answer on behalf of its candidates in all electorates:
Sustainable Australia Party wants to achieve greater housing affordability for home buyers and renters, while striving for relatively stable house prices. We would do this by addressing the root cause of the problem - government-engineered hyper-demand. This would mean phasing out negative gearing, removing capital gains tax concessions from property investors, banning foreign ownership and stabilising Australia's population size.