NSW councils not pulling their weight on housing could be bypassed, Chris Minns warns

Premier Chris Minns says he “won’t be afraid to use” state government powers to speed up housing delivery.

Councils which don’t pull their weight when it comes to addressing Sydney’s housing crisis will be in the firing line of the NSW Government, with Premier Chris Minns saying he “won’t be afraid to use” state government powers to speed up housing delivery.

It follows the Premier using Friday’s Daily Telegraph Bradfield Oration to announce that how housing applications and approvals are monitored will be radically overhauled, with the average number of days it takes a council to turn around a development application to be clearly displayed.

Councils will then be ranked, while the state would also be measured against other states across the country.

When asked if the NSW Government could step in to address issues at individual councils languishing at the bottom of the scoreboard, Mr Minns said “I’m not ruling it out”.

“We don’t need any new legislation … All of the necessary regulation and powers that would allow the New South Wales government to step in to provide housing for young Australians is already vested in us, and we won’t be afraid to use it,” he said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns giving his address at the 2023 Daily Telegraph Future Sydney Bradfield Oration. Picture: Richard Dobson

It’s understood the move could result in the state government increasing its use of powers which allow it to bypass councils’ planning controls.

The NSW Government has already done so at Macquarie Park, with Mr Minns announcing earlier this month a state-led rezoning process to add 3000 new homes to the area by bypassing Ryde Council.

Mr Minns added he hoped the weight of public pressure on councils shown to be clearly not performing would negate the need for the state government to step in.

“We genuinely believe that the best antiseptic is sunlight and that community pressure, media pressure, public pressure, as well as the shame of being on the bottom of that scoreboard, is an important moderator for government action,” he said.

Mr Minns also backed increasing powers for the NSW Building Commissioner David Chandler, announced on Sunday, that would allow the building watchdog to inspect any freestanding home while under construction.

Premier Chris Minns on Sunday announcing new regulatory powers for the NSW Building Commissioner. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Robinson

The Premier said he wasn’t concerned the increase in powers would make it more difficult to hit a state-housing target of 75,000 new homes a year.

“We are not going to let quantity be the enemy of quality in New South Wales,” he said.

“It’s essential that we’ve got confidence in the building sector of the state.

“If someone is building a high quality built-to-last terrace house or apartment, we cannot have a situation where someone comes along (and) tries to cut the legs out from underneath him with a shoddy product.”

He did say he was “really worried” about the Commonwealth’s infrastructure review which has resulted in the Federal Government cutting funding from key Sydney projects like the M7-M12 interchange.

“We’re expected to take in a bigger population in New South Wales, which we’re supportive of …(but) that kind of change can only happen with increased infrastructure in the state, and we’ve only got so much in our back pocket when it comes to (paying for) infrastructure.”