David Borger: Use next week’s elections to vote for a better housing future

The state government has put forward solid policies to boost strategic planning and approval of greatly needed new homes, writes David Borger. Now councils need to step up.

Australia has always been the land of the “fair go”, but in Sydney, our oldest and largest city, housing affordability is eroding that dream.

Too many of our skilled young people are being locked out of the property market, forced to leave our city in search of affordable living.

As Chair of Housing Now!, a coalition of business, union and community organisations that are pushing for more homes, I’m deeply passionate about tackling the housing crisis.

Housing Now!’s purpose is to help people locked out of the property market get a fair go, regardless of background or income.

Under the NSW housing accord, councils are expected to approve a significant portion of the 375,000 new homes needed over the next five years, fulfilling a critical role in the strategic planning and approval of future residential development.

While the state government has put forward solid policies, local councils must get on board. This election is our chance to elect councillors who are laser-focused on approving more homes and making affordability a reality.

Housing Now! chair David Borger. Picture: AAP Image

Our recent analysis found that some councils like Blacktown, Wollondilly and Camden are assessing DAs quickly and need to maintain their past completion rates to meet the state’s new housing targets.

Sadly, other councils like North Sydney need to speed up their assessment rate by over three months (135 days) and increase the annual housing completion rate by 345 per cent.

As parents, we want to see our children thrive here in Sydney. We don’t want to lose the next generation due to a lack of affordable housing.

A NSW Productivity Commission report warns that Sydney could very well become a city with no grandchildren unless we fix the housing crisis now.

Between 2016 and 2021, Sydney lost twice as many people aged 30 to 40 as it gained.

It also found that while Sydney has among the highest average wages in Australia, over recent years it has consistently lost population to other states and regional NSW.

We need more councillors elected who are committed to securing the housing future for our next generations — because everyone deserves a place to call home.

David Borger is Chair of Housing Now!