Bradfield Oration 2023: Chris Minns hailed for key address
NSW Premier Chris Minns has unveiled his plan for Sydney’s future at The Daily Telegraph’s 2023 Bradfield Oration as the city’s leaders from a range of sectors had their say.
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Premier Chris Minns has admitted he is on the hook to solve the housing crisis and has put his planning bosses on notice to deliver.
The Premier will name and shame councils that drag their heels on planning approvals and publish a league table to compare housing completions against other states.
“Our departments, our councils, (and) some state MPs are saying ‘No’ too often when it comes to new housing options for Sydney,” he said.
“Every time they say ‘No’ it means that another house will not be built for a young family, or a single person, or a renter in our city.
“That culture has to change,” Mr Minns told 150 business, civic and political leaders at The Daily Telegraph’s 10th Bradfield Oration.
He was responding to a challenge to be as bold as John Bradfield, the engineer who built a 10-lane Harbour Bridge when the motor car was in its infancy, future-proofing the city.
The Daily Telegraph editor Ben English welcomed Mr Minns’ declaration of war on the planners, after explaining how decades of underbuilding had left Sydney with a housing crisis.
“Bureaucratic barriers need to be swatted aside. That’s a given,” Mr English said.
“The Daily Telegraph has long opposed developmental red tape and will champion any government that meaningfully carves through it.”
Mr Minns said that as Premier he was personally “on the hook” to get developments and completions going in NSW, and would be “transparent” about how his government met the challenge.
That included a league table of completions against other states.
“The NSW government will publish housing approval times or delays for state-significant developments – every single one of them,” he said.
“We will also centralise and publish the average number of days it takes for all councils to turn around a development application.”
Mr Minns also unveiled his vision to transform Sydney with an international design competition, similar to the one which delivered the Opera House, to find the perfect Sydney terrace and unit block.
The winning design — potentially by a “budding young architect” — would be included in a “pattern book” of endorsed designs to be fast-tracked through the planning system in a bid to build more homes sooner.
“This is your chance to design, not just a single building, but fundamentally change this city — for a young architect it is literally a once in-a-lifetime opportunity,” he said.
“We want to see building designs that embrace what we love about Sydney and NSW.”
Buildings with the endorsed designs will be deemed a “complying development,” and will have an accelerated approval pathway – meaning builders can get on site faster, and homes can be built sooner.
Building Commissioner David Chandler said a pattern book of designs could be in place by the end of next year.
Mr Minns delivered his vision in front of former premiers and orators Dominic Perrottet and Mike Baird, who both endorsed his plan to slash red tape.
Mr Perrottet said the competition and design pattern book was a good idea “just as long as we keep the bureaucrats out of the way”.
Mr Baird said the speech showed how the Bradfield Oration provided the “right impetus” to push the leaders of the city and the state.
“Any city and its leadership needs to be reminded of the opportunities rather than just the challenges. The Bradfield Oration provides a true north of opportunity to our leaders,” he said.
Paul Nicolaou, executive director Business Sydney, said the plan for new terrace housing design was a “huge breakthrough” for the city.
“It will galvanise the city with a positive attitude that this solution to the housing crisis is eminently doable,” he said.
“Drawing on a housing solution that was part of Sydney’s earliest days is a masterstroke in making housing affordable for a new generation.”
Business Western Sydney boss David Borger, who is leading the Housing Now alliance, was “stoked” by the announcement.
“Great design should be affordable to mum-and-dad developers,” he said.
“A great pattern book design should work whether it’s in Bondi, Blacktown or Bankstown.”
Read our blog of the day’s highlights
In closing the 2023 Bradfield Oration, Editor of The Daily Telegraph Ben English thanked Premier Chris Minns for the ideas he presented, and for “humanising” the housing challenge by flipping the conversation on its head and focusing on the families who need a home.
“It gave us a good narrative, but it also gave us a compelling argument as to why we should do that.
“Development has developed a bad name for all the wrong reasons.”
Defects down as super funds hungry to help
Building Commissioner David Chandler has declared defects have dropped sharply since his role was established and government must now offer incentives alongside regulations for builders doing the right thing.
Mr Chandler said since new reforms were ushered into the building industry in 2020, reported defects had nearly halved.
He said a “Well-regulated industry is a productive and useful place to be” and would be crucial for hitting housing targets.
Now, he said it was about aiding builders to produce more – and higher quality – stock.
“What can we do to assist them?...How can we give people a hand up, rather than hitting them on the head with a road whenever they put their head up,” Mr Chandler said.
Deanne Stewart, CEO Aware Super, called on both state and federal governments to realise how big investors and super funds could help build more affordable housing.
“Big investors and super funds, (want) a lot more co-ordination and impetus (from government) to get this solved,” she said.
Ms Stewart said Sydney remained a good place to invest.
“We really want to do investments where there’s really good returns…for us, it’s a really good win-win,” she said.
“Many of you wouldn’t know behind many of the assets in Sydney is a super fund or super funds…light rail, airport precinct…we’ve really led the way in the build to rent sector.”
She also shadowed investment in affordable housing, via build to rent, could be pursued further by the company.
Licensing laws stifling city’s hospitality scene
Hospitality entrepreneur James Thorpe, CEO of the Odd Culture group, has called for major changes to Sydney’s planning system for venues, telling a panel at the 2023 Bradfield Oration that the creative industry has been “let down by licensing laws”.
If Sydney wants to follow in the footsteps of global cities like London and Paris, he said, up-and-coming operators who are “groan(ing) under the weight” of duplicated paperwork, need to be better supported with faster approvals.
Currently, would-be venue owners have to be prepared to pay 16 to 24 months of commercial rent before a decision about whether they can run their business has even been made, Mr Thorpe said.
“Our planning and licensing laws are not fit for purpose,” he said.
“Part of what makes those cities special is they foster the creative entrepreneurship of the younger generations, the new operators coming up who really can’t afford to sit around and wait.”
Mr Thorpe praised the state government’s vibrancy reforms but said they are “low-hanging fruit”, and there remains more complex issues to be addressed - like the “unacceptable” 200-plus days some councils are taking to determine DAs.
However, he observed that there are positive signs with the sector no longer “the enemy that we’ve been portrayed to be”.
“I think it’s worth reflecting on the fact that for the first time in about 10 or 12 years, all three layers of government are broadly at the table in good faith, acknowledging that there are problems,” Mr Thorpe said.
“The reality is ... a single noise complaint or a licensing police sergeant that doesn’t really like you could end things for you at any moment.
“It’s a sobering moment, where we are now.”
New airport must have an express train to Parramatta
Chair of the Bradfield Board of Governors Tony Shepherd has said the most important next step in Sydney’s infrastructure future is a train line directly between Parramatta and the new Western Sydney Airport.
Mr Shepherd, who was awarded a place on the Bradfield Honour Roll at Thursday’s event and was crucial in the Sydney Harbour and Lane Cove Tunnels being built, said a new line to the airport was critical.
“You’d expect a direct link between the airport and the central city…that would not be unreasonable to expect,” he said.
“I think that’s the only thing that needs to be done.
“To realise the full potential of this magnificent airport…It’s important it has a direct rail there.”
Mr Shepherd was on a panel moderated by John Lehmann, who was the editor at large at The Telegraph when the first Bradfield Oration was founded, and Paul Whittaker, now Sky News CEO and Telegraph editor who too helped found Bradfield.
Mr Whittaker backed Mr Minns’ announcement to blow up how the state records its planning successes and failures.
“League tables are a good idea…other states are developing things three times faster than NSW,” he said.
Minns’ feed with Israeli restaurant owner
The Premier has gone into detail about meeting and dining with the Israeli owner of a Surry Hills restaurant which was graffitied with the phrases “child murder” and “steal our identity” over the weekend.
Minns described the incident as “horrific anti-Semitic vandalism” and said the owner of Shaffa, Erez, was an “amazing young man” and that their conversation over a meal “struck a chord”.
“He was understandably in despair after hearing that vandalism and naked anti-Semitism had been sprayed across the front of his business,” Minns said.
“He believed that no one would want to go to a restaurant that had been targeted like that. He was amazed to discover that the exact opposite happened.
“The next night the restaurant was packed, his city rallied behind him.”
The Premier said he was also moved by Erez’s love for Sydney, which was “undiminished even in the face of that despicable act of public racism”.
League table to hold government, councils to account
Premier Chris Minns will radically overhaul how new housing is measured in a bid to put the acid on local councils and state government planning departments, he has told the Bradfield Oration.
“The NSW Government will publish housing approval times or delays for state significant developments – every single one of them,” Mr Minns said.
“We’ll also centralise and publish the average number of days it takes for all Council’s to turn around a Development Application.
“We’ll also publish housing completions in comparison to other States – a league table to track comparisons across borders and to hold us to account.
“This will ensure that the public are aware of the progress that Council’s and the Department of Planning are making when it comes to our goal of increasing housing supply and cutting red tape – but perhaps more importantly – the government will be aware that the community is watching.”
Competition to shape a new Sydney
An international design competition will be launched to find the perfect Sydney terrace and unit block, with the winner to be included in a “pattern book” of endorsed designs that will be fast tracked through the planning system in a bid to build more homes sooner.
Premier Chris Minns has used The Daily Telegraph’s Bradfield Oration to announce he will slash red tape for developers who build from a list of high-quality, pre-approved designs, to deliver on a housing ‘French revolution’.
The move will speed up construction while lowering prices for homebuyers and renters.
The designs will come from a “pattern book” of endorsed plans for low-rise terraces and Paris-style unit blocks of up to six storeys.
NSW Government Architect Abbie Galvin will lead the process alongside the private sector, with input from the community.
Buildings with the endorsed designs will be deemed a “complying development,” and will have an accelerated approval pathway – meaning builders can get on site faster, and homes can be built sooner.
An international design competition, similar to the one that delivered Jørn Utzon’s iconic Opera House, will be launched to deliver a “best practice” Sydney terrace and unit block for the 21st century.
NSW must dramatically accelerate the delivery of housing in order to meet ambitious targets agreed with the Commonwealth government.
The state also needs to up its game to build as fast as Victoria and Queensland.
NSW completed 48,000 new buildings in 2022, behind Victoria with 59,000 completions – despite our state’s higher population.
Building more low-rise and mid-rise terraces and apartments will help achieve Mr Minns goal of increasing density in sections of Sydney close to public transport, green space, amenities and jobs.
Minns opens speech with cheeky dig
NSW Premier Chris Minns, the 2023 Bradfield Orator, opened his oration with a quip, telling the audience he had “resisted the urge” to launch a 12-cities plan to one-up his predecessor, Dominic Perrottet’s, six-cities vision.
Talking up Sydney as the “greatest city on earth”, and ribbing Melbourne as being “Paris without any of the landmarks”, the Premier said despite the city’s natural beauty, governments “can’t be afraid of making change”.
“Treating the city like a delicate object is robbing the future. It’s akin to living in an art gallery simply gathering dust... it’s a living thing,” he said.
“Change must include at its heart new housing.
“Housing is the key ... if we fail to do that, we won’t be providing the next generation with the chance to grab a piece of the city for themselves which many, including me, were able to inherit or grab for themselves.”
Daily Telegraph editor Ben English addresses the crowd
Daily Telegraph editor Ben English has opened the 2023 Bradfield Oration with a call for those wielding power in Sydney to help solve a housing crisis he says is the greatest issue facing the city.
Calling on law-makers and power players to aid in thinking bold and moving quickly, Mr English highlighted the fact the first Bradfield Oration was less than nine years ago - a similar amount of time to how long it took to build the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
“It took less than nine years to build from scratch the entire Sydney Harbour Bridge and from the sod turning...to the bridge’s opening...it took only eight years and eight months,” he said.
“We must do better, we must be faster.”
Mr English warned the city has “been under-building housing since the Sydney Olympic era”.
He said now was the time for the “reunification of people and property - a widespread, affordable coming together”.
“Bureaucratic priorities need to be swatted aside,” he said.
Calling for practical optimism, Mr English implored the city’s leaders to facedown Sydney’s housing crisis, saying “housing is to Sydney now as the bridge was to John Bradfield’s time”.
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