NSW Premier Chris Minns is looking to fast-track affordable housing developments.Credit:Rhett Wyman
Speaking on Monday with Ben Fordham on 2GB,Minns agreed he may be setting himself up for a clash with local councils but was not afraid to fight for the Labor government’s first major reform aimed at helping to solve Sydney’s housing affordability crisis.
“We’re not afraid of that fight,we’re prepared to take it on. A lot of these mayors who I’ve spoken to or heard from in the media in the last couple of weeks have two minds. They have two answers to any question in relation to development and that is ‘no’ or ‘hell no’,” Minns said.
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“We can’t grow a city,which is expected to take 37 per cent of all inbound immigrants over the next five years,by saying no to all reasonable developments across the metropolitan area. If we keep doing that,we will have more than 30,000 people fleeing NSW every single year.”
The reforms are set to take effect later this year and are a part of the NSW government’s commitment under the National Housing Accord to construct 314,000 homes over five years.
Government departments and agencies have alsobeen tasked to identify surplus public land to be redeveloped into housing and will set a 30 per cent target for social and affordable housing in any development on that land.
Updated population projections from the May federal budget showNSW will lose more than 124,000 residents to other states over the coming years.