Hobart summit talks innovation to tackle state’s housing crisis

Housing experts gather to pitch how to fix Hobart’s near-decade long crisis. Here’s what they recommend.

Attendees at Hobart Housing Forum on Monday, December 2, 2024.

Housing sector representatives have gathered in Hobart to help find ways to give housing a boost as the city struggles with a near-decade long crisis.

The Hobart Housing Forum attracted around 80 top minds to brainstorm ways to increase the city’s housing supply and the number of affordable rental options.

Not-for-profit community organisations, development industry experts, leaders in the construction industry and politicians were slated to look into ways to transform underused land and buildings into medium and high-density housing.

Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said housing stress was a very widespread and complex issue.

Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds, Glenorchy Mayor Sue Hickey Clarence Mayor Brendan Blomeley and Kingborough Mayor Paula Wriedt speak to the media on Parliament Lawns in Hobart on Wednesday, November 13, 2024.

“The City of Hobart has an approval rate of about 98 per cent for development applications, but unfortunately many projects fall over in the post-council phase,” she said.

“We are hopeful that bringing all these experts into the same room will generate some really unique and productive discussions around the solutions to the city’s housing situation.

“Our city has limited space for greenfield developments, but we do have several underused sites that have significant capacity for redevelopment.

“With smart planning, we can convert these areas into medium and higher-density housing which would help provide vital living spaces for our residents.

“Organisations like Nightingale Housing have had incredible success building sustainable and affordable housing on the mainland.:”

Nightingale Housing Partnerships Manager James Senior said smart thinking was essential to fixing the city’s housing crisis.

Generic scenes of West Hobart.

“In the midst of both a climate crisis and a housing crisis, Australian cities need triple-bottom line housing that is environmentally, socially and financially sustainable.

“Access to appropriately located, well-designed homes is critical in supporting decarbonisation, individual and collective wellbeing, and economic progress in urban settings.

“We must reorientate the housing market to focus on homes that are attainable to a diverse mix of owner-occupiers and community housing tenants, in a tenure-blind model where community comes first.”

SGS Economics Principal Ellen Witte said affordability was key.

“Housing affordability is poor for increasingly more households, including pensioners, job seekers and part-time working parents,” she said.

“Many are paying 30 per cent of their income or more on rent, leaving them in a situation of rental stress.

“Deteriorating affordability across the country has been driven by a number of factors, including increasing material costs, the increased cost of construction, rising interest rates, a return to pre-pandemic rates of population growth, and strong rent price increases.”

Originally published as Hobart summit talks innovation to tackle state’s housing crisis