NSW Labor explore new solutions for Sydney’s housing crisis

The New South Wales Labor Government has unveiled its vision for housing in Sydney, looking toward existing land to aid in accessibility and affordability.

In an effort to alleviate the city’s ongoing housing crisis, NSW Premier Chris Minns has advised his ministers to uncover available public land across Sydney to rezone for new homes.

Detailing the policy at The Sydney Morning Herald’s Sydney 2050 Summit, the Premier has written to his departments, requesting that they audit their landholdings and identify surplus land to be used for housing.

“I expect the NSW government to do its fair share to identify and open new land it owns for housing,” the Premier told The Sydney Morning Herald.

“The pressures on the rental market are extreme. But our job is to get more supply into the system to help alleviate some of that pressure”.

Social, Affordable And Inclusive Housing

He ensured that at least 30 percent of the land identified would be committed to social, affordable, and inclusive housing, promising to avoid selling too many homes privately and risk worsening the crisis.

Speaking at the Summit, the Premier also underlined the economic and cultural importance of attracting and retaining youth in Sydney, acknowledging that affordable housing and soaring rental costs are major hurdles.

“Forget about owning a home, it’s now become impossible to even rent a home,” he said.

“The implications for the economy are devastating, not to mention the cultural impacts for an entire generation of young people who are saying ‘this city is not for me’.”

The proposed solution ultimately opens the door for accessible, “medium-density” housing to be built across Sydney.

“Everything Is On The Table”

Beyond increasing the land surplus, the Minns government is also looking toward existing buildings to bolster the city’s housing stock.

NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson has stated that the government will explore transforming unused offices and government buildings into social housing, among other things.

“Everything is on the table,” she told The Guardian.

“If there are opportunities to do that in a way that aren’t unbelievably expensive, we’re keen.”

She also shared the Premier’s sentiments on accessible social housing, backing his effort to freeze private sales and maintain the availability of public housing in New South Wales.