Why this Sydney council has kicked up a stink about new planning rules
Woollahra Municipal Council has requested a temporary suspension of state government reforms in the town centres of Rose Bay, Double Bay and Edgecliff, areas captured by the low and mid-rise (LMR) housing policy, which the state government says will ensure the council contributes its share of thousands of new homes needed in NSW.
The controversial 'missing middle' laws, in effect since February, prevent councils blocking applications for buildings up to six storeys within 400 metres, and up to three storeys within 800 metres, of certain areas. They are central to the Minns government's commitment to build 377,000 new homes in NSW under the National Housing Accord. Woollahra must build 1900 homes by mid-2029 under a target set by the state government last year.
Planning Minister Paul Scully responded last week, saying his department 'undertook extensive engagement with all councils impacted by the policy, including Woollahra Council', holding a workshop with council staff in May 2024.
In a statement on Monday, a spokesperson for Woollahra Council disagreed, describing the engagement as minimal. 'We are deeply concerned that reforms of this nature can be introduced without the NSW government fully understanding the implications,' they said.
Last week, Scully said the processes considered council feedback on sites' unsuitability due to flood risk, but said Woollahra was 'well-placed with existing and future infrastructure to provide a diverse range of housing where people want to live'.
'The low- and mid-rise housing policy will help council achieve this target.'
Woollahra, which was not one of the LGAs Scully wrote to last month asking them to 'lift their game' and approve higher-density housing faster, had an average approval time of 140 days in April, above the target of 115 days.
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The Advertiser
12 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Greens councillors accuse state of walking back Broadmeadow affordable housing 'promise'
IT was spruiked as a "huge win for the Hunter", levers pulled on new planning controls at Broadmeadow designed to clear the road for 3200 new homes to be built on government-owned land. But Newcastle Greens councillors Charlotte McCabe and Joel Pringle argue the state government's pledge to make five to 10 per cent of those homes social and affordable housing falls well short of the mark. "Instead of building homes that everyone can afford, this announcement is about selling off public land to private developers," Cr McCabe said. "Adding to housing supply alone is not the answer for long-term affordability and liveability for Newcastle. "As Greens councillors, we support the Broadmeadow redevelopment because it's close to jobs, services and public transport. It's essential that people on low and fixed incomes and single-income households can afford to live there, too." Earlier this month, Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley and Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully announced the state-led rezoning of the first four government-owned sites at the Broadmeadow precinct. Mr Scully said the Broadmeadow precinct offers a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to deliver homes, jobs, recreational and public spaces. "Only one site within the Broadmeadow precinct is going through with the land audit and the affordable housing on this site will contribute to this target," he said. "This will also be supported by a record investment of $6 billion in social housing in last year's budget, the biggest in NSW history." Mr Scully said that as part of the 2024 Budget, the state government announced 30,000 new homes on surplus government sites, including 8400 new public homes, as well as affordable and key worker housing. The rezoning at Broadmeadow marks a step forward in the most significant urban renewal project in the region, set to progress over the next three decades. A 2024 Newcastle Herald report said the government mandated 30 per cent affordable housing in all private development of state-owned land. That same year, NSW Minister for Housing Rose Jackson reaffirmed to the Hunter Community Alliance that 30 per cent of the Hunter Park residential development would be affordable and social housing. The NSW Social Housing Accelerator Implementation Plan, published late 2023, said an initial minimum target of 30 per cent had been set to contribute to the supply of social and affordable housing. Cr Pringle said vague promises that social and affordable housing will be added later at Broadmeadow "won't cut it". "We're still waiting for the starting gun on the Broadmeadow precinct, and the state government is already trying to walk back its promises," he said. The councillors will seek support from the chamber to ask the state government to match the Greens' commitment of 50 per cent, or a minimum of 30 per cent social and affordable housing on all three sites at the next meeting. Affordable and inclusive homes were a key issue raised in submissions to the Finalisation Report on the Broadmeadow precinct. The Hunter Central Coast Development Corporation will now prepare an infrastructure delivery plan for the rezoned land, in collaboration with Newcastle council and other state government agencies. Ms Catley did not respond to a request for comment before deadline. IT was spruiked as a "huge win for the Hunter", levers pulled on new planning controls at Broadmeadow designed to clear the road for 3200 new homes to be built on government-owned land. But Newcastle Greens councillors Charlotte McCabe and Joel Pringle argue the state government's pledge to make five to 10 per cent of those homes social and affordable housing falls well short of the mark. "Instead of building homes that everyone can afford, this announcement is about selling off public land to private developers," Cr McCabe said. "Adding to housing supply alone is not the answer for long-term affordability and liveability for Newcastle. "As Greens councillors, we support the Broadmeadow redevelopment because it's close to jobs, services and public transport. It's essential that people on low and fixed incomes and single-income households can afford to live there, too." Earlier this month, Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley and Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully announced the state-led rezoning of the first four government-owned sites at the Broadmeadow precinct. Mr Scully said the Broadmeadow precinct offers a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to deliver homes, jobs, recreational and public spaces. "Only one site within the Broadmeadow precinct is going through with the land audit and the affordable housing on this site will contribute to this target," he said. "This will also be supported by a record investment of $6 billion in social housing in last year's budget, the biggest in NSW history." Mr Scully said that as part of the 2024 Budget, the state government announced 30,000 new homes on surplus government sites, including 8400 new public homes, as well as affordable and key worker housing. The rezoning at Broadmeadow marks a step forward in the most significant urban renewal project in the region, set to progress over the next three decades. A 2024 Newcastle Herald report said the government mandated 30 per cent affordable housing in all private development of state-owned land. That same year, NSW Minister for Housing Rose Jackson reaffirmed to the Hunter Community Alliance that 30 per cent of the Hunter Park residential development would be affordable and social housing. The NSW Social Housing Accelerator Implementation Plan, published late 2023, said an initial minimum target of 30 per cent had been set to contribute to the supply of social and affordable housing. Cr Pringle said vague promises that social and affordable housing will be added later at Broadmeadow "won't cut it". "We're still waiting for the starting gun on the Broadmeadow precinct, and the state government is already trying to walk back its promises," he said. The councillors will seek support from the chamber to ask the state government to match the Greens' commitment of 50 per cent, or a minimum of 30 per cent social and affordable housing on all three sites at the next meeting. Affordable and inclusive homes were a key issue raised in submissions to the Finalisation Report on the Broadmeadow precinct. The Hunter Central Coast Development Corporation will now prepare an infrastructure delivery plan for the rezoned land, in collaboration with Newcastle council and other state government agencies. Ms Catley did not respond to a request for comment before deadline. IT was spruiked as a "huge win for the Hunter", levers pulled on new planning controls at Broadmeadow designed to clear the road for 3200 new homes to be built on government-owned land. But Newcastle Greens councillors Charlotte McCabe and Joel Pringle argue the state government's pledge to make five to 10 per cent of those homes social and affordable housing falls well short of the mark. "Instead of building homes that everyone can afford, this announcement is about selling off public land to private developers," Cr McCabe said. "Adding to housing supply alone is not the answer for long-term affordability and liveability for Newcastle. "As Greens councillors, we support the Broadmeadow redevelopment because it's close to jobs, services and public transport. It's essential that people on low and fixed incomes and single-income households can afford to live there, too." Earlier this month, Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley and Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully announced the state-led rezoning of the first four government-owned sites at the Broadmeadow precinct. Mr Scully said the Broadmeadow precinct offers a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to deliver homes, jobs, recreational and public spaces. "Only one site within the Broadmeadow precinct is going through with the land audit and the affordable housing on this site will contribute to this target," he said. "This will also be supported by a record investment of $6 billion in social housing in last year's budget, the biggest in NSW history." Mr Scully said that as part of the 2024 Budget, the state government announced 30,000 new homes on surplus government sites, including 8400 new public homes, as well as affordable and key worker housing. The rezoning at Broadmeadow marks a step forward in the most significant urban renewal project in the region, set to progress over the next three decades. A 2024 Newcastle Herald report said the government mandated 30 per cent affordable housing in all private development of state-owned land. That same year, NSW Minister for Housing Rose Jackson reaffirmed to the Hunter Community Alliance that 30 per cent of the Hunter Park residential development would be affordable and social housing. The NSW Social Housing Accelerator Implementation Plan, published late 2023, said an initial minimum target of 30 per cent had been set to contribute to the supply of social and affordable housing. Cr Pringle said vague promises that social and affordable housing will be added later at Broadmeadow "won't cut it". "We're still waiting for the starting gun on the Broadmeadow precinct, and the state government is already trying to walk back its promises," he said. The councillors will seek support from the chamber to ask the state government to match the Greens' commitment of 50 per cent, or a minimum of 30 per cent social and affordable housing on all three sites at the next meeting. Affordable and inclusive homes were a key issue raised in submissions to the Finalisation Report on the Broadmeadow precinct. The Hunter Central Coast Development Corporation will now prepare an infrastructure delivery plan for the rezoned land, in collaboration with Newcastle council and other state government agencies. Ms Catley did not respond to a request for comment before deadline. IT was spruiked as a "huge win for the Hunter", levers pulled on new planning controls at Broadmeadow designed to clear the road for 3200 new homes to be built on government-owned land. But Newcastle Greens councillors Charlotte McCabe and Joel Pringle argue the state government's pledge to make five to 10 per cent of those homes social and affordable housing falls well short of the mark. "Instead of building homes that everyone can afford, this announcement is about selling off public land to private developers," Cr McCabe said. "Adding to housing supply alone is not the answer for long-term affordability and liveability for Newcastle. "As Greens councillors, we support the Broadmeadow redevelopment because it's close to jobs, services and public transport. It's essential that people on low and fixed incomes and single-income households can afford to live there, too." Earlier this month, Minister for the Hunter Yasmin Catley and Minister for Planning and Public Spaces Paul Scully announced the state-led rezoning of the first four government-owned sites at the Broadmeadow precinct. Mr Scully said the Broadmeadow precinct offers a "once-in-a-generation" opportunity to deliver homes, jobs, recreational and public spaces. "Only one site within the Broadmeadow precinct is going through with the land audit and the affordable housing on this site will contribute to this target," he said. "This will also be supported by a record investment of $6 billion in social housing in last year's budget, the biggest in NSW history." Mr Scully said that as part of the 2024 Budget, the state government announced 30,000 new homes on surplus government sites, including 8400 new public homes, as well as affordable and key worker housing. The rezoning at Broadmeadow marks a step forward in the most significant urban renewal project in the region, set to progress over the next three decades. A 2024 Newcastle Herald report said the government mandated 30 per cent affordable housing in all private development of state-owned land. That same year, NSW Minister for Housing Rose Jackson reaffirmed to the Hunter Community Alliance that 30 per cent of the Hunter Park residential development would be affordable and social housing. The NSW Social Housing Accelerator Implementation Plan, published late 2023, said an initial minimum target of 30 per cent had been set to contribute to the supply of social and affordable housing. Cr Pringle said vague promises that social and affordable housing will be added later at Broadmeadow "won't cut it". "We're still waiting for the starting gun on the Broadmeadow precinct, and the state government is already trying to walk back its promises," he said. The councillors will seek support from the chamber to ask the state government to match the Greens' commitment of 50 per cent, or a minimum of 30 per cent social and affordable housing on all three sites at the next meeting. Affordable and inclusive homes were a key issue raised in submissions to the Finalisation Report on the Broadmeadow precinct. The Hunter Central Coast Development Corporation will now prepare an infrastructure delivery plan for the rezoned land, in collaboration with Newcastle council and other state government agencies. Ms Catley did not respond to a request for comment before deadline.
Sydney Morning Herald
20 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
NSW bail fail: More children behind bars locks in reoffending
Introducing harsher bail laws for children in NSW was a textbook example of short-term political gain trumping long-term evidence-based policy. And now the bill has arrived – not just in the form of rising detention numbers, but in the costs to children's futures, community safety, and the public purse. In early 2024, the Minns government rushed through changes to the Bail Act in response to concerns about youth crime. This was done with the support of the opposition. They were warned then – by hundreds of Australia's leading legal, criminology, and human rights experts – that the amendments, which made it harder for children to get bail than adults, would drive up prison numbers, disproportionately affect vulnerable children, and do nothing to prevent crime. They went ahead anyway, chasing headlines to appear 'tough on crime' and, in turn, tough on children. A year later, the results are in. The latest Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) data released this month shows youth detention in NSW has surged by 34 per cent in just two years. More than 70 per cent of the children locked up are on remand. Almost 60 per cent are Aboriginal, undermining the NSW government's own Closing the Gap commitments. These outcomes are proof that the system is failing. In almost every other area of public life – in health, education, child protection, and family violence – we put children's wellbeing first. We invest early to prevent harm and promote better outcomes. That is, until they end up in contact with the justice system and governments across Australia abandon that principle. It costs more than $1 million a year to keep a single child in detention in NSW. Most of those children are released within weeks or months, often back into the same unstable housing, disrupted schooling, or untreated trauma that contributed to their offending. In 2023-24, 2897 children entered detention and 2825 were released. Loading The evidence is unequivocal: the younger a child is when they enter the justice system, the more likely they are to reoffend. Incarceration compounds the trauma vulnerable children have already been through, deepens disadvantage, fractures family and cultural connections, and offers an apprenticeship in the criminal justice system that leads to more serious offending later in life and reduced community safety. Harsher punishments and restrictive bail laws aren't just like parking an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, they also drop kids straight back to the edge. They are less likely to finish school or find work, and more likely to die young. It is not 'soft' to point this out, it is simply the reality of the evidence. If our goal is fewer children committing crimes, the answer is not to double down on the very approach that drives reoffending. It is to invest in what works.
The Age
20 hours ago
- The Age
NSW bail fail: More children behind bars locks in reoffending
Introducing harsher bail laws for children in NSW was a textbook example of short-term political gain trumping long-term evidence-based policy. And now the bill has arrived – not just in the form of rising detention numbers, but in the costs to children's futures, community safety, and the public purse. In early 2024, the Minns government rushed through changes to the Bail Act in response to concerns about youth crime. This was done with the support of the opposition. They were warned then – by hundreds of Australia's leading legal, criminology, and human rights experts – that the amendments, which made it harder for children to get bail than adults, would drive up prison numbers, disproportionately affect vulnerable children, and do nothing to prevent crime. They went ahead anyway, chasing headlines to appear 'tough on crime' and, in turn, tough on children. A year later, the results are in. The latest Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) data released this month shows youth detention in NSW has surged by 34 per cent in just two years. More than 70 per cent of the children locked up are on remand. Almost 60 per cent are Aboriginal, undermining the NSW government's own Closing the Gap commitments. These outcomes are proof that the system is failing. In almost every other area of public life – in health, education, child protection, and family violence – we put children's wellbeing first. We invest early to prevent harm and promote better outcomes. That is, until they end up in contact with the justice system and governments across Australia abandon that principle. It costs more than $1 million a year to keep a single child in detention in NSW. Most of those children are released within weeks or months, often back into the same unstable housing, disrupted schooling, or untreated trauma that contributed to their offending. In 2023-24, 2897 children entered detention and 2825 were released. Loading The evidence is unequivocal: the younger a child is when they enter the justice system, the more likely they are to reoffend. Incarceration compounds the trauma vulnerable children have already been through, deepens disadvantage, fractures family and cultural connections, and offers an apprenticeship in the criminal justice system that leads to more serious offending later in life and reduced community safety. Harsher punishments and restrictive bail laws aren't just like parking an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff, they also drop kids straight back to the edge. They are less likely to finish school or find work, and more likely to die young. It is not 'soft' to point this out, it is simply the reality of the evidence. If our goal is fewer children committing crimes, the answer is not to double down on the very approach that drives reoffending. It is to invest in what works.
