One in five Moruya, Batemans Bay homeowners facing housing stress as major projects loom: Council

With major projects set to transform the Moruya area, Eurobodalla Shire councillors have called on the state government to provide temporary accommodation for workers amid a housing shortage.

Eurobodalla Shire councillors have unanimously supported plans to call on the state government to provide temporary accommodation for workers ahead of major projects amid a “critical” housing shortage.

Work is expected to get underway on the new $260 Eurobodalla Hospital in Moruya in coming months, with the multi-million dollar Moruya Bypass to follow sometime after once a route has been decided upon.

Both projects promise to majorly upgrade services in the region, but will also require many workers.

According to a motion put forward by Councillor Rob Pollock, that’s something the region simply cannot sustain as an ongoing housing crisis continues to have ramifications.

“The major projects here give an opportunity to take a different approach,” Cr Pollock said at the council’s ordinary session on May 24.

“Clearly, the level of action being proposed or endorsed by both federal and state governments is inadequate in terms of the immediate problems from housing, which will be exacerbated by the construction requirements and the staff requirements.”

Cnr Pollock urged councillors to reflect on the opportunity the projects created, drawing on Moruya’s close history with the Sydney Harbour Bridge’s foundation.

“It really does go back to the historic situation in Moruya when the Sydney Harbour Bridge was being built, and the quarry was established on the Moruya river, they built a town to house the workers,” he said.

More than 20 per cent of households in parts of Moruya, Batemans Bay and Narooma are facing housing stress. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

“So, if you look back in history, you can learn that there’s an opportunity here to create a solution for the short term problem, but more importantly, a real social and economic opportunity to alleviate some of the problems that are clearly staring everyone in the face today.”

The motion enjoyed unanimous support from the councillors and passed without objection.

Councillor Tanya Dannock commended the motion, adding that she acknowledged the troubles faced by local businesses in light of the housing crisis in finding staff.

“I’ve been hearing stories where the local pub has to close its kitchen because they can’t access staff; allied health professionals who are unable to attract staff for their businesses,” she said.

“So the major works are just one aspect of a broader issue.”

According to council documents, the motion supports the council to: “Undertake targeted advocacy to the NSW Government for significant infrastructure investment projects to urgently develop and implement funded strategies for the construction of housing to meet the needs of construction workers and the potential to provide long term housing supply.

“Safe, secure and affordable housing is critical to the wellbeing of individuals and local communities and the economic prosperity of the Eurobodalla. The Eurobodalla Local Government Area (LGA) is facing a critical housing supply shortage across all income levels and tenures.

“While the declining trend of housing affordability is not unique to our Shire, housing pressures have become more acute with rental affordability becoming out of reach for average income earners, low rental vacancy and very high house price growth.”

The documents state that housing stress would only be exacerbated by an influx of workers, while recording that housing stress is experienced by over 20 per cent of households in some parts of Moruya, Batemans Bay and Narooma, and by over 12 per cent of households across the Eurobodalla Shire – which is higher than other regional areas in NSW.

“We have seen a take-up of rental housing for project managers, professionals as well as construction workers for the Batemans Bay Bridge (Princes Highway) realignment project over the last few years,” the documents state.

“The increasing prices and tightening markets (exacerbated by worker accommodation) will impact on housing security for very low to low income households, particularly in the Moruya area. This will likely have a flow-on effect of increasing the number of rough sleepers and homelessness in the LGA.”