Ku-ring-gai Council’s response to NSW Government’s housing targets
Published on 30 May 2024
The Council renewed its call for more infrastructure funding and clarity on housing targets following the government’s announcement today.
On 29 May the NSW Government provided each council with a five year housing target, aligning with its objective of delivering 377,000 new homes in NSW by 2029. Ku-ring-gai Council’s share was listed as 7,600.
When asked to comment on the target, Mayor Sam Ngai said that while it was theoretically achievable under the NSW Government’s proposed housing reforms, the main constraint was around having enough construction workers to deliver the 377,000 new homes.
“The only time NSW has ever achieved the 75,000 per year required to meet this target was right before the pandemic. Since then, NSW has averaged 55,000 per year with its construction workforce having migrated to other countries. There needs to be a deliberate shift in policy if NSW expects to rebuild capacity.”
The Ku-ring-gai target of 7,600 new homes in five years is supported by the government’s two-pronged housing policy.
Under the government’s Transport Oriented Development program, 20,000 new dwellings are expected within 400 metres of Gordon, Killara, Lindfield and Roseville stations in 15 years.
Next month, a separate change for ‘Low-and Mid-Rise Housing’ will uplift housing capacities across the state.
Mayor Ngai said that with Ku-ring-gai’s population expected to double in a few decades, it was important to support future residents with appropriate infrastructure.
“Queensland has housing targets through to 2046, which allows councils to properly plan and deliver infrastructure for future generations”.
“But the state government’s targets shouldn’t be limited to five years. We believe each council should receive a 20-year target to aspire to, and that councils are best placed to determine where the housing densities should go.”
“If Ku-ring-gai was allowed to plan for the long term, we may be able to protect heritage and tree canopy in some places, while delivering density in other areas that improves the financial viability and timing of housing delivery”.
Mayor Ngai also called into question the government’s announcement of $200 million in extra funding to fast-track approvals across the State.
“Councils can play their part to ensure that development applications are processed in a timely manner, and we might get a few million from this pool of $200 million.”
“But from Ku-ring-gai alone, residents in our 7,600 new homes will contribute over $78 million in housing contributions to the state government. For a small fraction of this to be returned to Ku-ring-gai is a real slap in the face for our future residents who expect the money to go towards local infrastructure.”
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Media enquiries: media@krg.nsw.gov.au or 9424 0000.