Housing crisis: Shoalhaven mayor’s big bid on tax fund as homelessness grows

The mayor of a south coast council where more than 20,000 homes are unoccupied is determined to clamp down on the vacancy rates. Here is how she wants to tackle the housing crisis.

Shoalhaven Council has clashed over calls to introduce a special rate tax as part of a raft of proposed measures aimed at combating a worsening housing crisis, with some slamming the plan as being a “Robin Hood tax”.

Mayor Amanda Findley introduced the proposed special rates variation at the council’s meeting on Monday, with funds generated from the tax to be used to create an affordable housing fund that could be accessed by community providers to purchase land or property.

“There are remarkable stories of homelessness happening across the Shoalhaven,” Cr Findley said on Monday.

“We know that hospitality industry here is in desperate need of chefs and baristas. Our nursing staff will also need somewhere to live when the new, half-a-billion-dollar hospital is erected. I don’t want to be cynical about this, I want to try.”

About a quarter of homes in the Shoalhaven are owned by nonresident ratepayers, a council report says.

In some areas, the permeant occupancy rate is as low as 20 per cent.

“We all know there are areas where you walk around at night at there is not a single light on,” Ms Findley said.

“And yet, every day we pick up the phone and are being told there are families with nowhere to live.”

Shoalhaven Council Mayor Amanda Findley wants to alleviate the housing crisis.

The motion urges council staff to explore several options aimed at reducing housing pressure, including the tax, and was passed with a majority vote.

Reactions were mixed, with some councillors stating it did not go far enough or supported only half measures.

Councillor Greg Watson expressed fears that the tax would only increase the cost of medium-density housing options in the Shoalhaven, and said that it was not a new proposal and should only be considered if it was implemented fairly.

“Any tax should be equitable and it should be affordable,” he said.

“In this case, we are singling out individuals who have investments – many of them locals.

“Some of them rent their houses out in the normal market, others for tourism or short stays. If you start meddling with this mix, it’s unfair. It’s unequitable. It would be far better — and this isn‘t shifting the buck — it’d far better done through the State Government.”

Cr Watson instead suggested that the NSW Government should set aside money collected through land tax to establish a community housing fund in line with the Albanese government’s proposed community housing push, rather than through any council-led initiative.

“The other issue is everyone writes off tourism,” he said.

“We always talk about the baristas and chefs, that they have to have somewhere to stay.

“Right now it’s very difficult to get tourism infrastructure approved at all because there is so much pushback.

“If you knock out tourists, you’re going to knock out jobs. You’re going to knock out our local economy.

“There won’t be jobs for baristas, there won’t be jobs for out chefs.”

The proposal comes amid a widespread housing crisis across the state’s South Coast, an area popular with tourists and ballooning with regional immigration from the metropolitan centres in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

In June, Eurobodalla Mayor Mathew Hatcher, faced with the same crisis, called on nonresident homeowners to release their properties on to the long-term rental market.

Eurobodalla Shire Council Mayor Mathew Hatcher has urged non-residential homeowners to release their homes into the normal rental market. Picture: Nathan Schmidt

A similar proposal was included in Mayor Findley’s report, which would seek to call on the owners of Shoalhaven’s 23,000 unoccupied homes to consider letting their properties into the normal rental market, rather than for use as AirBnbs or holiday homes.

The measure was supported by councillor Paul Ell, who said he was otherwise “very concerned” about the proposed tax.

“I support many aspects of the motion and I agree that running a letter-writing campaign is a good idea,” he said.

“The idea of a housing fund, though, is something that I would consider only if it was not to be funded on the back of property owners who are exercising their rights to keep their properties vacant.”

Conversely, councillor John Wells largely supported the motion, but said it could go even further.

“I’ve been a champion of affordable housing in our city for many years,” he said.

“Though I do note that the motion focuses strongly on short term rental accommodation – and there are a number of difficulties with that particular approach. The first of which is I'm opposed, in principle, to ‘Robin Hood’ taxes.

“Taxes ostensibly take money out of money-making properties, manipulating the market and setting it aside for a specific purpose.”

Instead, Mr Wells said the motion should go even further.

“I think the report that you‘re calling for should be talking about the scope for collaboration between the council, the developers, and various housing providers, so as to act as a catalyst and a leader in bringing everyone together,” he said.

“I think we haven’t played enough of a role in strategic land acquisitions for the purpose of affordable social housing, either.”

Deputy Mayor Liza Butler joined those calls.

Seconding the motion, she said the State Government had been lacking in its assistance to local councils.

“All the state members do is talk,” she said.

“It’s not council’s role to be providing affordable housing, but through a lack of action from the State Government we are forced to.

“We need to investigate what options we have and if we get a report back, we can see what they are moving into the future.”

The motion passed with support from Mayor Findley and councillors Kotlash, Butler, D’Ath, Christen, White, and Gray.

It was opposed by councillors Copley, Ell, Wells, Watson, Kitchener.