Meriton’s Harry Triguboff endorses NSW premier Chris Minns support for high-rise development

One of Sydney’s most prolific apartment titans has lauded the Premier’s support of high-rise residential developments, saying Minns is the “first premier who talks in favour of apartments”.

Artist impression of the Little Bay Cove Meriton planning proposal.

Billionaire Meriton developer Harry Triguboff has heaped praise on Chris Minns as the “first premier” in favour of high-rise apartments.

It comes after the premier unveiled a change to the state’s planning system which aimed to incentivise major residential projects worth more than $75m, which includes 15 per cent affordable housing, by fast tracking through the approval process.

Mr Triguboff, apartment titan and one of Sydney’s leading developers, called the decision “a very big move” because Minns was “the first premier who talks in favour of apartments”.

Minns refused to comment when asked for his reaction to Mr Triguboff’s assessment.

Shadow planning minister Scott Farlow said, in response to Triguboff’s comments, that it had been a sudden “conversion” for Minns and referenced the premier calling “parts of his own electorate a ‘high rise hell’” following a 556-unit proposal for Hurstville in 2017.

Billionaire Meriton developer Harry Triguboff at his home in Vaucluse, Sydney. Photo: Nick Cubbin

Despite aligning with the notion Sydney needed to “go up”, Mr Farlow said Minns would “be the architect of the ‘high rise hell’ he [once] bemoaned … if he continues to cut the vital transport links and infrastructure projects started by the coalition”.

In April, Minns ordered a review of projects across Sydney, including three lines from the new Sydney Metro.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has been labelled as the first premier to favour high-rise apartments by billionaire Meriton boss Harry Triguboff. Picture: NCA Newswire/ Adam Yip

Scott Farlow has questioned Chris Minns over his sudden conversion to supporting high-rise apartments. Picture: NCA Newswire /Gaye Gerard

Mr Triguboff would not be drawn on if he would include affordable housing provisions at Meriton’s contentious apartment plans at Little Bay to allow the application to be fast-tracked, but said: “it won’t be easy, but it should be okay”.

An application has been lodged – in Meriton’s third attempt to rezone on the site – as part of a fast-track program for developers with more than 1000 dwellings unveiled by the previous Liberal-National state government.

Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker previously lashed the proposal, highlighting how council would need to “sign confidentiality agreements” to view the proposal and said he did not want Little Bay to become a “concrete monstrosity”.

Save Little Bay spokesman Olde Lorenzen has called for Meriton to proceed with a masterplan previously approved for the site, which allowed a total of 450 dwellings in buildings up five storeys in height, of which 226 were completed in 2018.

The Meriton-owned development site at 1406-1408 Anzac Parade, Little Bay. Picture / Monique Harmer

When asked about community concerns, Mr Triguboff said he didn’t want to hear about “that famous [Little Bay] community”.

“First of all, there’s very few people that live there,” he said. “The problem with our system is, for every one of them, there’s 100 people who want to live there.

“Only the idiots that live there [are against it] … that has to be changed … it’s not the right way to do it.”

While Mr Lorenzen wasn’t too worried about Minns’ new policy, he hit out at “big developers” like Meriton “who build soulless clusters of towers in often bad locations”.

He called on the government to “confirm it will indeed knock this (Little Bay) zombie proposal on its head”.

Maroubra MP Michael Daley, who has previously spoke out against Meriton’s Little Bay plans, was contacted for comment on Monday but did not respond before publication.