Rosehill was going to ease Sydney’s housing woes. Enter the mysterious ‘Plan B’

Premier Chris Minns faces two challenges after the membership of the Australian Turf Club voted to hold on to Rosehill racecourse, and in doing so, deny Sydney thousands of much-needed homes.

Not only does Minns have to find a new bold plan to replace the failed Rosehill bid, but he will need to convince taxpayers that his modus operandi is not to overpromise and underdeliver.

Premier Chris Minns with Australian Turf Club chair Peter McGauran at Rosehill in 2023 when the pair announced the new mini-city.Credit: Dion Georgopoulos

Minns, of course, will argue that the decision of ATC members was out of his control, and he is correct. Unless the membership agreed to sell the land and surrender their racetrack, there was no sale. No new housing. No new metro stop.

Clearly, Minns was convinced by those within the ATC who were championing the sale of the western Sydney track that members would be convinced to part with their prized piece of real estate.

So much was this the case that he stood trackside with ATC chairman Peter McGauran in late 2023 to excitedly announce plans for a new mini-city, which would have as many as 25,000 new homes.

That mini-city would form part of the Western Metro line, whose future was uncertain in the immediate aftermath of NSW Labor’s 2023 election win. But when Minns finally put everyone out of their misery and committed to continue building the metro, there was a cherry on top.

Amid a worsening housing crisis, a new development in a key and growing part of Sydney would go some way towards the NSW government’s ambitious target of building 75,000 new homes a year for the next five years. With it would come a Rosehill metro stop.

It was, as Minns rightly described it, a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity for Sydney.

There was a small sticking point, barely mentioned initially. The plan was contingent on 11,000 ATC members backing the sale. Most, except perhaps the members, assumed that was a done deal.

Rarely does a premier so enthusiastically back a plan that is by no means a certainty.

But as months passed, and vocal opponents of the plan – including wealthy horse trainers and maverick MP Mark Latham – increasingly spoke out against the proposed sale, it became clear that the premier may have been too premature in promising the Rosehill mini-city.

Minns has since tried to reposition his stance into a positive one, describing his enthusiasm as taking risks rather than playing it safe. In reality, he has been left with egg on his face.

On Tuesday, in the aftermath of the no vote, Minns did not hide his disappointment, nor shy away from the reality that his government would be criticised for backing a half-baked plan, albeit a good one had it eventuated.

Minns says to stand by for Plan B, which the government has been working on for some time. He will need to make sure Plan B is solid and or else risk being labelled as a leader who talks a big game on housing but fails to deliver.

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