By Max Maddison
The NSW government has been accused of playing politics over the contentious “missing middle” housing reforms, with the Coalition suggesting it has been designed to “limit the impact on Labor areas”.
Analysis of the 135 Sydney stations and major town centres in the government’s low- and mid-rise policy, undertaken by opposition planning spokesman Scott Farlow, shows 70 are spread across 18 Liberal-held seats, compared to 45 sites in 25 Labor seats.
Planning Minister Paul Scully hit back, accusing Farlow of “the cheapest of political tricks” by excluding sites outside Sydney from the analysis.
The NSW government has been accused of politicising the politically contentious “missing middle” reforms.Credit: Bloomberg
The policy is central to the Minns government’s efforts to build 378,000 homes by July 2029 under the National Housing Accord. The reforms will increase density within 800 metres of 171 sites near train stations and town centres, allowing buildings up to six storeys within a five-minute walk, aiming to contribute 112,000 homes.
The Herald reported on Friday that areas of the inner west and parts of Rockdale and Kingsford would be excluded because they were covered by Sydney Airport’s flight path. These areas are largely in Labor electorates but cross into Liberal and Greens territory.
The Coalition’s analysis shows 3.9 sites for every Liberal seat, and 1.8 for every Labor seat. The marginal seat of East Hills in Sydney’s south-west – held by Labor with a 1.8 per cent buffer – was excluded from the policy despite having four train stations, while “small proportions” of Riverstone and Parramatta were included, Farlow said.
There were seven sites in Greens seats and six in independent seats. Seven sites cut across both Liberal and Labor electorates.
Farlow’s analysis included the entirety of the inner west and Rockdale and Kingsford, despite parts being excluded from the policy late last week.
By contrast, government figures show there are 80 such sites across 39 Labor seats in Greater Sydney.
Farlow said the final policy demonstrated the “government has been selective in their choices” and was “putting politics before planning”.
“With aircraft noise exclusions and obvious sites that have been taken off the list, it’s clear that this policy has been designed to limit the impact on Labor areas and get through caucus rather than to deliver more homes,” he said.
“Originally, the policy was supposed to come into effect by the middle of last year, but it was delayed in what was an obvious attempt to defer it until after the council elections and in what was long rumoured to be facing internal caucus resistance.”
Farlow said the “most contentious” was the run of stations from Waverton to Turramurra, on Sydney’s north shore, “with no set of Labor seats having more than four stations in a row”.
Scully said that once areas outside Sydney were also factored in, there were more sites in Labor electorates than those held by other parties.
“The opposition can’t continue to ignore major regional centres like they did in government while locking people out of homes,” he said.
“It seems the opposition is disappointed that the Minns government has been able to navigate the planning reforms that NSW needs and that they couldn’t deliver.”
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