The NSW Planning Minister has admitted regional areas suffer from a “dramatic” housing shortage and vowed to deliver more dwellings at a rapid pace.
Anthony Roberts told budget estimates on Friday the private market had “failed” to solved the problem and that the Department of Planning and Environment would be “pivoting” to housing programs for the bush.
“There is a shortage of housing, quite frankly, in regional NSW, all housing,” Mr Roberts said.
“It‘s dramatic. There is a market failure.”
Mr Roberts also revealed he would launch an independent review into housing developments in areas prone to flooding.
But the announcement was scant on details and opposition MPs responded with a barrage of questions.
Mr Roberts could not say who would be appointed to lead the review, when it would start, if there would be public hearings, or what the terms of reference would look like.
The Minister claimed any speculation of how the review would work would risk politicising the issue.
“This needs to be an independent review, not clouded by politics,” he said.
Planning and environment secretary Mick Cassel will be responsible for launching the review, which according to Mr Roberts will look into “the relevant instruments policies and programs applying to development in flood prone locations across NSW, as well as existing developments.”
While Mr Roberts and the planning officials present could not explain much of what the review would entail, they did specify a few areas it won't touch.
The review will not look into development in bushfire-prone areas, officials said.
It also will not look into whether waiving stamp duty should be used to encourage people to move away from flood plains.
Mr Roberts told the committee he hadn’t been consulted on a government proposal to offer stamp duty relief for flood victims looking to move out of risky areas of cities like Lismore.
The Minister said he only learned of such a proposal by reading a newspaper report earlier in the week.
“That would be a matter for the Treasurer,” he said.
Mr Roberts said repeatedly the government was in a “response phase” of the floods and that details on recovery would have to wait.
“We are working tirelessly to offer temporary housing and accommodation for those who need it the most,” the Minister said.
“As the cleanup is still underway, it's probably too early to determine the extent of the issues but the Department of Planning and Environment has been in touch with affected councils to offer advice and assistance.”
Labor MP Rose Jackson pointed to research figures she said showed the NSW Northern Rivers area, which has been devastated by floods, was in a dire need of more housing even before the storms forced many from their homes.
She said there was a vacancy rate of only 0.6 per cent in the area and that about 2300 new homes would have been needed even if the floods hadn’t happened.
“What I can say is we will shortly be delivering a regional housing strategy,” Mr Roberts responded.
Mr Roberts said the government had already begun rejecting planning proposals in Sydney‘s Hawkesbury-Nepean valley, which he described as “one of the most hazardous floodplains in the country”.
“There‘s about 134,000 people that live and work on the floodplain and of course, total (flood) damages in the past have come into the billions of dollars,” he said.
Labor‘s planning spokesman Paul Scully slammed the lack of details about the floodplain review, claiming it would add more uncertainty for flood victims.
“As thousands of flood victims try to piece together their lives after the devastation they’ve just faced, the government has thrown a review together on the fly hoping it would be seen to be doing something,“ Mr Scully said in a statement.
“The only thing we see today is a government underprepared for this natural disaster and helping to provide some reassurance to tens of thousands of people who will want to get about rebuilding their lives as quickly as possible”, he said.
