Rosehill saga another depressing chapter in Sydney’s sorry housing story

If today’s vote on the proposal to sell Rosehill racecourse and replace it with 25,000 new dwellings and a metro station goes down in flames, the whole saga will serve as a textbook case study in why Sydney has little hope of ever coming to grips with the housing affordability crisis.

Because for all the egos, personalities and politics involved, the debate over Rosehill’s future comes down to a dynamic playing out across Sydney: the battle between an obvious need to boost housing stock and the stubborn opposition to any form of urban development.

Rosehill racecourse would be replaced by housing if sold to the state government.Credit: Getty

The Herald has been a strong supporter of the proposal to use Rosehill for housing. It is, as we have said many times before, a no-brainer.

NSW has a target of building 75,000 new homes a year for the next five years under the National Housing Accord but is so far nowhere close to meeting that goal. The total number of houses and units approved in NSW in the 12 months to November 2024 was 42,109. We need to pick up the pace, and business as usual clearly won’t cut it.

The 60-hectare Rosehill site won’t solve this problem alone, but it could make a big dint. It is in the geographic heart of Sydney. It is criminally underutilised. The new Metro West rail line will run underneath it and an additional station would allow new residents to travel to the CBD in less than 20 minutes. The sale proceeds would also allow racing authorities to invest heavily in upgraded and new facilities elsewhere. The Minns Labor government, which would buy the site from the Australian Turf Club under the proposed deal, has staked huge political capital on fixing the housing crisis and is therefore heavily incentivised to make the new suburb materialise – and quickly.

So how has a no-brainer idea become so contentious, let alone at risk of being knocked back today? Blame rests with all sides.

For its part, the ATC’s pro-sale leadership fumbled making their case from the outset by failing to provide basic information about how the sale would occur, how the money would be spent and what the replacement facilities would look like. They have allowed a debate over a piece of land to become a de facto referendum on the polarising figures running the industry in NSW, and have used dubious campaign tactics to rally support for a “yes” vote. The incompetence has been staggering. The Minns government has also strangely done little to make the case for change.

On the other side, an influential group of wealthy trainers and breeders have co-ordinated the “no” case. While the Save Rosehill coalition have successfully poked many holes in the ATC’s shambolic campaign, they have had little to say about what should happen to the racing industry should the status quo prevail, have been driven by longstanding animosity towards the state racing industry’s polarising leadership and have shown scant regard for the plight of Sydneysiders who can’t afford a home.

Rosehill’s transformation from an under-utilised site into a new suburb could signify a major shift in the corrosive contest between progress and self-interest. Sadly, it looks like the latter will win the day when the votes of Australian Turf Club members are tallied. Once again, Sydney’s younger generations are being disadvantaged by the decisions of those who already have a nice home (or homes) and have no interest in compromise or sacrifice.

It has been another unedifying and depressing chapter in Sydney’s sorry housing story.

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