Housing News Digest
Housing News Digest
The Tenants' Union Housing News Digest compiles our pick of items from all the latest tenancy and housing media, sent once per week, on Thursdays.
Below is the Digest archive from November 2020 onwards. From time to time you will find additional items in the archive that did not make it into the weekly Digest email. Earlier archives are here, where you can also find additional digests by other organisations.
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Archive
NSW is recruiting for one of the state's toughest jobs — the successful applicant faces a massive task
Ashleigh Raper ABC (No paywall)The state's new rental commissioner will need to channel Christopher Pyne's "I'm a fixer" vibes.
The former federal education minister's infamous proclamation eight years ago was in reference to how he ensured a trouble-plagued higher education package got through the senate.
The task ahead of the new NSW rental commissioner will be far more complex.
Indeed, it's looking like one of the most difficult jobs in the state.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-10/analysis-nsw-rental-commi…
# Hot topic NSW, Campaigns and law reform, NSW Fair Trading, State Government.Minister looks to rework Waterloo South
Geoff Turnbull The South Sydney Herald (No paywall)When the current stage of the previous government’s procurement process for Waterloo South ends in about a month, the new NSW government will review the proposal to see how it can be turned into something that Labor can support. This was the key message delivered by Minister Rose Jackson at a REDWatch housing forum on June 5, 2023.
Under the current stage of the procurement process inherited by the incoming NSW Labor government, interest from four potential development consortiums is to be reduced to two by mid-2023. Minister Jackson told the meeting that “we aren’t able to stop that without massive compensation to the participants in that process and potentially we want to see what comes out of it”.
https://southsydneyherald.com.au/minister-looks-to-rework-waterl…
# Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, Planning and development, State Government.Fact sheet: Proposed 82 Wentworth Park Road development
Action for Public Housing Action for Public Housing (No paywall)82 Wentworth Park Road is a 35-year old public housing complex in Glebe. There are currently 17 public housing dwellings (12 one bedroom and 5 three bedroom units) on the site. More than 1500 people have signed an Action for Public Housing petition calling on the government to save 82WPR. More than 370 individuals submitted objections to the development application during the exhibition period.
https://a4ph.substack.com/p/fact-sheet-proposed-82-wentworth?utm…
# Hot topic NSW, Public and community housing, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability.Key issues for the 58th Parliament - Social and affordable housing
Lenny Roth and Damian Gilyana NSW Government (No paywall)Social and affordable housing provides an important safety net for those who cannot afford housing in the general market. In 2014 a parliamentary committee noted evidence
suggesting that NSW was in ‘a social housing crisis, with insufficient social housing
properties to match the level of current demand and future need.’1 It is likely that the
situation has worsened since then. Demand for this type of housing has increased as the cost of renting in the general market has risen significantly.
https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/researchpapers/Pages/Social-an…
# Research alert NSW, Affordable housing, Housing affordability, State Government.Inside the Greens’ housing reform strategy
Mike Seccombe The Saturday Paper (No paywall)Kos Samaras ended 14 years working for Labor as a strategist and campaign director years ago, but he doesn’t mind giving his old employer a bit of advice.
In a nutshell, it is this: housing is a huge issue with voters, Labor’s policy response is not cutting through, and the Greens are coming to get them.
These days Samaras is director of the polling, research and political strategy outfit RedBridge Group. The things his focus groups are telling him lead him to think housing affordability, and in particular rental affordability, could see Labor suffer the same fate as the conservative parties did when they lost a swag of heartland seats to teal independents. Except next time, the likely winners will be Greens.
“Housing, to the generation the Greens are talking to, which is mostly people under the age of 45, is just as important as climate change now. And the electoral impacts will be potentially just as profound as they were for climate in [the election of] 2022,” says Samaras.
https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/2023/06/10/ins…
# Hot topic Australia, Rent, Campaigns and law reform, Federal Government.If politicians can’t fix the housing crisis, can the people do it for them?
Peter Hartcher The Sydney Morning Herald (Paywall)Australia is an entire continent that is failing to build enough homes for the population of a mere city, but the federal government’s plan to fix the crisis has hit a brick wall. That wall is political intransigence. Specifically, it’s the Coalition and the Greens. They’ve combined to block the Albanese government’s housing fund bill in the Senate.
It’s the only one of the government’s major legislative initiatives that has been frustrated by the parliament. As usual, the Coalition objects that the government is doing too much. And as usual, the Greens complain that the government is doing too little.
https://www.smh.com.au/national/if-politicians-can-t-fix-the-hou…
# Hot topic Australia, Federal Government, Housing affordability, Planning and development.Push to set up new independent advocate for tenants amid ongoing rental affordability woes
Rory McClaren ABC (No paywall)For more than two decades, PK and her family have lived in rental properties.
Her greatest challenge has been dealing with an ongoing feeling of insecurity and a lack of support when things have gone wrong.
"I think that agents are generally, obviously, they are working for the landlord," she said.
"And that's not really a place you can go to with any confidence if there are major problems."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-12/push-to-set-up-independen…
# Hot topic Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Housing market, State Government.SA push for new renter's advocate
Angus Randall ABC (No paywall)South Australia could soon have an independent rental advocate under reforms put forward by the Greens.
There are many groups that can assist individual renters, but an advocate would essentially lobby the government on behalf on all renters.
https://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/worldtoday/sa-push-for-new…
# Hot topic, TUNSW in the media, Audio Australia, Campaigns and law reform, Housing affordability, State Government.