Lake Macquarie Housing Forum

On 3 April I attended the inaugural Lake Macquarie City Council Housing Forum. The event brought together affordable housing providers, community organisations, development industry experts and government to discuss one of Australia's greatest challenges—housing affordability and supply. We heard from keynote speakers, who included the Minister for Planning and Public Spaces and the Minister for the Hunter, who is our very own member for Swansea, and participated in related workshops on the planning system, finance and social and affordable housing.

To frame this discussion, we were all given the promotional brochure for the 1982 Australian Housing Conference, which set out issues facing the Australian housing sector at that time. It referred to population changes increasing pressure on housing and amenities. It highlighted there was more homelessness, growing waitlists for social housing, and more people relying on caravan parks and substandard accommodation. Rate rises were causing hardship and excluding more people from home ownership, and there was overcrowding in the private rental market, with lower income earners facing intolerable rents and insecurity of tenure. That was in 1982. Does that sound familiar now?

Forty-three years on, not much seems to have changed. There was no naivety at the housing forum as to the complexity of the issue, nor were there expectations this decades-old crisis could easily be solved. However, it was clear that there was a shared goal for people living in Lake Macquarie to have access to secure and affordable housing. I was struck by the willingness of attendees to contribute and to listen to the insights of others, which allowed participants to flesh out potential solutions rather than simply cover old ground. One point that stuck out is that the housing we so desperately need will not be built if projects are not financially feasible. It is a commercial reality that the numbers need to stack up. Concern was raised that this can be difficult to achieve in rural and regional areas, including in Lake Macquarie, where low-rise to mid-rise housing projects can struggle to get financing.

Like the New South Wales Government and the council, I want to see more homes in Lake Macquarie. The efficient delivery of diverse housing will be the key to a future where housing is accessible to all. For this to occur, all levels of government must put their heads together and consider what policy levers can be pulled to ensure these types of projects can actually be built in our regions, and that they remain affordable. Developer industry experts were supportive of taking steps to increase certainty and expedite the development approval [DA] process. With over 20 years on Lake Macquarie City Council, including over eight years as mayor, I share their concerns around unnecessary DA delays.

Much-needed housing projects should not be made unfeasible because they are delayed by gold plating or a drawn-out approval process. We know Lake Macquarie is growing. We expect an additional 40,000 people to call the city home over the next 20 years, which will create a demand for almost 19,000 new homes. Much of that growth will be in my electorate of Lake Macquarie, which takes in most of the two regionally significant growth areas identified in the New South Wales Government's Hunter Regional Plan 2041, along with four transport oriented development precincts. In order to meet the current and future needs of the community, it strikes me that we must have open discussions such as that facilitated by Lake Macquarie City Council at its housing forum.

By literally giving industry, not-for-profit community organisations, affordable housing providers and government a seat around the same table, we have a shot at addressing the roadblocks to building more housing. I truly commend Lake Macquarie City Council for holding this forum, which was one of the first commitments of Lake Macquarie Mayor, Adam Shultz, after his election last year. The forum really was a worthwhile event, and he should be congratulated. I am hopeful that the insights from the forum convert into real change so that we have enough housing for our children and grandchildren, as well as for all those in need in our community. At the same time, this must be done in sustainable way, while preserving the natural environment and qualities around our lake and catchments in the way that has largely been done to this point, and which makes Lake Macquarie such a wonderful place in which to live.