A teal MP bemoaned the insane house prices... then came a plan to build 150 affordable homes in her area - her response has Aussies livid
Nicolette Boele, who scraped into the seat of Bradfield by just 26 votes over Liberal candidate Gisele Kapterian, took to social media to raise the alarm over the suburb's plummeting birth rates.
Sharing new figures showing Bradfield has some of the lowest birth rates in Sydney, Boele wrote how 'it underlines how unaffordable Bradfield has become for the next generation'.
'Bradfield is officially the most unaffordable place in the country to buy a home, with the typical dwelling costing more than 16 times the average income,' Boele said.
CoreLogic data from March puts the median house price in Bradfield at over $2.7million, meaning buyers need more than $540,000 just for a 20 per cent deposit.
'When the cost of a roof over your head takes everything you earn, it's no wonder people delay starting families or decide they simply can't afford to raise kids here,' Boele said.
'If housing is only accessible to the very wealthy, we lose the mix of young families, kids in local schools, and new generations that keep Bradfield vibrant.'
To address the issue, Boele has called for a rent-to-own scheme that would let buyers lease a property with a fixed purchase price for a set period, giving them 'time to save without the market pushing the prices up'.
But just two days earlier, the MP came out against an 11-storey apartment development in Castlecrag that would add 150 new homes and offer an affordable option for homebuyers wanting to move into the area.
It would also include a mixed-use development called Queensbridge, which would offer retail and dining, being built on the site of the Quadrangle Shopping Centre.
A previous plan for the area proposed a five-storey development, but was scrapped after the land was sold to a new developer, and Boele is understood to have been supportive of that plan.
In Castlecrag, the median house price is an eye-watering $4.5 million.
'This isn't about saying "no" to homes. It's about saying "yes" to responsible planning,' Boele said.
'Castlecrag has always embraced that approach. An 11-storey tower dropped in without adequate consultation is exactly the kind of planning that creates obstacles instead of solutions.'
Her stance drew swift backlash, with many pointing out that only 33 new homes have been built in Castlecrag since 1991.
'And here I was thinking electing a teal in the north shore would change things for young people around here. Just another entitled homeowner who wants young people priced out of where they live,' one person wrote.
Concept art of the original plan, which was scrapped after being sold to a new developer
'This shows how out of touch you are with how bad the housing crisis really is,' another said.
'You ran on building affordable housing. If you don't support high-density housing when it's unpopular with NIMBYs, then you don't support affordable housing,' a third said.
Some did agree with her, however, arguing the suburb lacks infrastructure.
'I'm no NIMBY, but this is the right call for now. Castlecrag isn't well connected by public transport and the roads aren't wide enough to accommodate more people.'
A protest at the proposed building site was held by the Castlecrag Progress Association last Tuesday, who oppose the development.
Justin Simon, from housing advocacy group Sydney YIMBY, said Boele's position was part of a broader problem.
'It's unfortunately a common pattern that politicians support new housing in the abstract, but will find fault with any concrete proposal,' he said.
'Being pro-housing means backing actual buildings, and actively bringing your constituents on that journey to support them.'
He argued that decades of resistance to development is exactly why Bradfield has become so unaffordable.
'Bradfield is one of the most expensive electorates in the country because they have fought tooth and nail against densification for decades,' Simon said.
'Housing affects how people have families, how many kids they have, how much time they're able to spend with them. We should make it easier for young families to get set up on the North Shore.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
3 minutes ago
- BBC News
Housebuilding in NI has busiest few months since 2018
Work started on more than 2,000 new houses in Northern Ireland in the second quarter of 2025, making it the busiest quarter for housebuilding since early Ireland has a chronic housing shortage, with about 48,000 households on the social housing waiting of the problem has been a widening gap between housing demand and the rate of the pandemic there have now only been two quarters in which work has started on more than 2,000 homes. It remains to be seen whether the improved performance in the second quarter of the year can be the mid-2000s more than 3,000 homes were being started every quarter before a house price crash saw the rate of construction fall 2024 Stormont's Department for Communities launched a housing supply strategy aimed mainly at increasing the supply of social other official figures show house prices in Northern Ireland continued to increase in the second quarter of this year. On a quarterly basis the average price was up by 0.3% and on an annual basis by 5.5% which brought it to just over £185, council areas saw prices increase over the year but it was a mixed picture over the quarter with five of twelve council areas seeing price an annual basis the biggest average increase was 8% in Mid Ulster while the lowest was 1.2% in Newry, Mourne & highest average price was just over £219,000 in Lisburn & Castlereagh while the lowest was £164,000 in Mid and East Antrim.
Daily Mail
5 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Cry us a river! How the Commonwealth Bank - worth $300BILLION - is secretly trying to fight a push to axe annoying credit card surcharges
Australia's biggest bank has been secretly leading a campaign against plans to ban credit card surcharges. The Commonwealth Bank is so worried about the Reserve Bank's proposals to remove surcharging fees on EFTPOS, Mastercard and Visa cards that it has secretly been co-ordinating a campaign with the banking industry's peak body. A confidential draft letter, obtained by Capital Brief, had CBA - with a $289billion market capitalisation - arguing the Reserve Bank proposal would 'jeopardise' Australia's payments system and hamper innovation. 'The speed at which proposals have been tabled means the proposals themselves are sitting on unsteady data and analysis,' the bank argued in one version of the letter. 'The short time frame of the consultation process has not allowed sufficient alignment between policy objections and likely outcomes.' The letter was addressed to Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Michele Bullock after the RBA last month released a consultation paper arguing debit and credit card surcharges were costing ordinary Australians $1.2billion a year. 'Surcharging is no longer achieving its intended purpose of steering consumers to make more efficient payment choices: avoiding surcharges has become harder as cash usage has declined, businesses are increasingly charging the same surcharge rate across debit and credit and there are significant challenges with enforcing the current surcharging rules,' the RBA said. 'Removing surcharging would make card payments simpler, more transparent and help to increase competition in the card payments system.' The Commonwealth Bank which recently announced a record profit is worried about the Reserve Bank proposals to remove surcharging on EFTPOS, Mastercard and Visa cards The letter was apparently shared with the Australian Banking Association, with submissions to the RBA consultation due by August 26. A Commonwealth Bank spokesman told Capital Brief cutting card fees would deprive Australian banks of a revenue stream that could be invested back into the payments system. 'The net result would be domestic institutions have less to invest as the infrastructure providers in Australia and overseas institutions will have more to harvest,' he said. 'If we have too little funding on one side of the payment system, we're going to find it a lot more difficult to keep up and stay ahead of the rest of the world.' Daily Mail Australia understands the Commonwealth Bank had drafted a letter encompassing the views of banks and payment providers that could convey a position to the Reserve Bank review. The letter is at odds with the Reserve Bank's consultation paper. That concluded that efficiency and competition in Australia's payments system would be encouraged by removing surcharging on all designated debit, prepaid and credit card systems. 'Removing surcharging, combined with reductions in interchange fees and greater transparency of payment costs, would make card payments simpler, more transparent and more efficient for consumers and merchants,' it said.
The Guardian
39 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Afternoon Update: Israel diplomatic row deepens; Lehrmann a ‘national joke', court told; and the agony of a software update
Good afternoon. Australia's government has rejected Benjamin Netanyahu's incendiary criticism and accused some Israeli politicians of 'bigoted' views about Palestinians, as the extraordinary political fight between the two nations turns uglier. The federal government's refusal of a travel visa for the far-right Knesset member Simcha Rothman stoked criticism from the Israeli prime minister, who labelled Anthony Albanese a 'weak politician' who had 'abandoned Australia's Jews'. 'Strength is not measured by how many people you can blow up or how many children you can leave hungry,' the home affairs minister, Tony Burke, told Radio National on Wednesday. 'Strength is much better measured by exactly what [Albanese] has done, which is when there's a decision that we know Israel won't like, he goes straight to Benjamin Netanyahu.' On Wednesday afternoon, Albanese said he wouldn't take Netanyahu's comments personally. 'I engage with people diplomatically. [Netanyahu] has had similar things to say about other leaders.' Bruce Lehrmann has become a 'national joke' and can't afford barrister for defamation appeal, his lawyer says Children with autism to be diverted off NDIS under $2bn federal program Victoria's urgent childcare review recommendations unveiled: major reforms but no 'silver bullet' to stop 'dangerous individuals' French prosecutors investigating death of man during live stream Microsoft workers occupy HQ in protest at company's ties to Israeli military Why is the NZ government cutting Māori words from some school books? Recent media coverage claims that 'Australians, especially men, are reading less' and 'young men have stopped reading books'. But is that true? Guardian Australia's data editor, Nick Evershed, does a deep dive into whether that claim is backed up by the numbers. 'Liam's smashing it. I'm proud of him … I couldn't do the stadium thing like he does it, it's not in my nature. But I've got to say, I kind of look and I think, 'Good for you mate.' He's been amazing.' – Noel Gallagher Noel Gallagher has opened up about his feelings towards his long-estranged brother Liam during Oasis' sold-out global reunion tour for the first time. Fifteen years after their acrimonious split, Gallagher said it was 'great being back in the band with Liam, I forgot how funny he was'. Zelenskyy suits up for peace but can Trump deliver? Six months after their explosive meeting in the White House, Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again met Donald Trump in Washington. But this time the Ukrainian president arrived with the support of key European leaders, who dropped everything in the hopes of securing a potential deal to end the war with Russia. Washington bureau chief David Smith speaks to Nour Haydar about whether Europe's united front managed to steer Trump away from the Kremlin, what chance is left of a ceasefire and how Trump welcomed Vladimir Putin back on to the world stage. Listen to the episode here Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Sorry your browser does not support audio - but you can download here and listen $ The promise of forced software patches is that they improve the software and apps we use every day – make them more convenient, maintain our security and so on. But what actually happens most of the time, writes Patrick Lum, is that updates change perfectly fine tech to the point where it sucks. Australian Book Week is here – and we'd love to see your children's costumes The highlight of Book Week for many kids is the chance to dress up as their most beloved characters, bringing them to life from the pages of a favourite book and into a costume parade. The annual event, which promotes literacy, is celebrating 80 years as part of Australian school life – and we'd love to see the weirdest, wackiest and most wonderful costumes. Today's starter word is: BOOT. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply. If you would like to receive this Afternoon Update to your email inbox every weekday, sign up here, or start your day with a curated breakdown of the key stories you need to know with our Morning Mail newsletter. You can follow the latest in US politics by signing up for This Week in Trumpland.
