Premier Peter Malinauskas moves to ease housing crisis by axing urban growth boundary

Premier Peter Malinauskas has had a veiled dig at his former boss as he outlines plans to axe urban growth boundaries to open up land in five major areas.

Premier Peter Malinauskas is moving to banish the “uncontrolled” carve-up of suburban streets for subdivision by axing a controversial urban growth boundary to open up land for 61,000 homes.

In a stark rebuke of the infill housing policy pushed by the Weatherill Labor regime, the government this week will introduce legislation to overturn greenfield housing development bans on land at Roseworthy, Two Wells, Murray Bridge, Victor Harbor and Goolwa.

These were pinpointed as housing growth hotspots in a draft 30-year Greater Adelaide Regional Plan released last September – its centrepiece was boosting the metropolitan population to 2.2m and adding more than 300,000 homes.

But the land parcels are within Environment and Food Production Areas (EFPA), which would be varied by the proposed legislation to allow an ongoing supply of development-ready land for the next 30 years.

Peter Malinauskas (right) with the-then premier Jay Weatherill (left) in 2016. Picture: AAP Image/Michael Ramsey

Mr Malinauskas, whose major State of the State address on Monday will include a population growth plan, issued thinly-veiled criticism of the infill policy and urban growth boundary introduced in 2016, when he was Police Minister.

“We know our state is growing. We want to make sure it grows in the right way. That means learning the lessons of the past, where growth has not been properly calibrated,” he said.

“We cannot see our suburban streets just continue to be carved up and subdivided in an uncontrolled manner.

Maps from the Greater Adelaide Regional Plan: The blue dots are areas of major urban infill run by the state government, while the green dots signify large greenfields development sites for new housing.

“We must grow in a way that gives people choice, whether that be living in proximity in the city, or raising a family on a bigger block.”

The proposed changes to the EFPA for housing are said to represent less than one per cent of agricultural land in the Greater Adelaide area.

The government argues the housing supply crisis could continue for another generation without the changes, because most of the proposed greenfield sites identified in the 30-year plan could not be rezoned and developed within the next 15 to 20 years.

Premier Peter Malinauskas will outline his plan to grow Adelaide at a State of the State address on Monday.

Pitched as a blueprint to make homes more affordable and prevent further supply shocks, the draft Greater Adelaide Regional Plan pinpointed northern Adelaide and Murray Bridge as twin engine rooms of growth as the urban growth boundary was ditched.

Apartments and higher density housing were earmarked along major roads and public transport centres, while seven new greenfield growth areas (including the five in the EFPAs) were targeted for 96,000 homes over the next 30 years.

Changing the EFPA boundaries to align with the 30-year plan allows for the redevelopment of about 61,000 of these homes.

Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia has accused Mr Malinauskas of making “grand announcements about land release and affordable housing” but failing to deliver.

“How many new homes have we actually seen? ‘Not many, if any’ is the answer to that question. The government’s failure to act is leaving families priced out of the housing market,” he told parliament in February.

“South Australians are now paying up to $40,000 in stamp duty on the median-priced home in metropolitan Adelaide. It is clear: the government’s actions do not match their rhetoric.”

Michael Hickinbotham, who heads the state’s biggest home builder, Hickinbotham Group, said the move was vitally important for the state’s future.

“Greenlighting the expansion of Roseworthy and the other growth areas will not only address the state’s housing crisis and stabilise the industry, but it will underpin long-term growth and support the future AUKUS workforce and regional industries,” Mr Hickinbotham said.