*Scroll to the bottom for an update on what happened at the council meeting after this forum*

Everyone in the Shire needs a home. But a lack of available, affordable homes to rent means that a growing number of people struggle to find one. On the same day that a horse ran faster than some other horses and won over four million dollars for its owners, 75 people piled into Engadine Uniting Church and spilled out into the hall to learn from expert speakers on affordable rental housing solutions and to question politicians from all levels of government on their commitment to implementation.

The community speaks:

Moving testimonials of housing stress, vulnerable youth, and real life solutions were given by Jo, John, and the CEO of Project Youth, Jodie Darge. John Engelar and Pilar Abustari of Shelter NSW, the peak body in NSW for housing policy and advocacy, presented expert evidence for a range of housing solutions that can be implemented concurrently at state and local levels. John offered a definition of ‘key workers’ as “the people who kept us alive during Covid…the people who can’t just say ‘I’m working from home today’.”

Finally, Janice Stokes (St Vincent de Paul), co-chair of the Nov 2021 local community forum on the same topic, reported in detail on the promises that Councillors from the Sutherland Shire had made at that forum to approve and implement our own local affordable rental housing target, and the extent to which those promises remained unfulfilled. You can view the slides Janice prepared here.

The community listens:

Each of our invited elected representatives was invited to speak for four minutes on the solutions they have to offer us on affordable rental housing. It would take a better reporter than your correspondent to adequately summarise their presentations, so at the present time this space remains short on content. We heard from:

  • Jenny Ware, Federal MP for Hughes, (Liberal Party)
  • Jenny Leong, State MP for Newtown and Greens spokesperson for housing.
  • Rose Jackson MLC, NSW Shadow Minister for Housing (ALP).
  • Lee Evans, MP for Heathcote (Liberal Party)(our local State member).
  • Councillor Diedree Steinwall, Ward D, Sutherland Shire Council (ALP).

The community asks:

Members of the audience asked questions including:

  • Will the current NSW government commit to the initiatives outlined in the National Housing Accord 2022?
  • How will each MP act to ensure people with disabilities are able to maintain their tenancies?
  • As subsidised rental housing can be and is provided to defence personnel without stigma, waiting lists, or running at a loss, can this model be applied to other key workers?
  • Will the state government take a more active role in bringing laggard councils to account, when they are underperforming in enacting and administering affordable housing schemes>
  • When developers commit to local council requirements for affordable units, how can this stock be maintained and not revert to market rates?
  • How is the current affordable housing stock in the Shire managed, and what criteria is used to award tenancy?
  • How do we transition the government focus away from housing as a commodity to that of a common good?

…and the politicians to whom the questions were addressed were each given one minute to reply. The action was fast and the questions kept coming for 25 minutes, but all the participants generally honoured the agreement to finish speaking when the time bell rang. The last question, however, was directed towards Jodie of Project Youth, asking “What’s on your shopping list if you could ask government for what is needed to support vulnerable young people at risk of homelessness in the Shire?” Her answer evoked approval and applause from the crowd.

The politicians commit:

  • Jenny Ware: When asked to commit to the assembly that she would convene a meeting between the Leader or Deputy Leader of the Opposition and local churches and community groups to hear from us about affordable housing, Ms Ware said yes.
  • Jenny Leong: as current polling suggests that the result of the NSW election may be a minority government in which the Greens could play a critical role. Ms Leong was asked if she will commit to making the provision of affordable housing a priority for her party in the new parliament, and she said yes. 
  • Rose Jackson: When asked if she would clearly report back to the Leader of the Opposition Chris Minns about this evening’s event to illustrate that concern about affordable housing is not restricted to other parts of Sydney, Ms Jackson said yes.
  • Lee Evans: When asked, Mr Evans committed to advocating in his party room for the NSW government to match or otherwise materially support at least some of these funding commitments.
  • Diedree Steinwall: When asked if she would work with the assemble community so that together we can organise public support when and where it is needed to get improvements in council policy and practice, Ms Steinwall said yes.

The people commit:

When asked if they would be be willing to come along to the critical council meetings to get important motions passed, the people said YES.

Extra material:

This event was organised with training support from Sydney Alliance. You can read more about the work of the Alliance here. The Alliance has been listening to communities and working with them on the issue of housing since 2013, and you can read more here, and sign up to receive updates on their campaign.

You can read more from Shelter NSW here.

You can read more about Project Youth here.

On 17 Oct 2022, a research report was published by the Lord Mayor’s Charitable Foundation and SEFA, entitled Finding affordable home options for invisible women to explore housing models that align with the needs of single, ‘middle aged’ (45-55 years) women, who are the fastest-growing group of people at risk of housing insecurity and homelessness in Australia (Boucher, 2021). In a nation obsessed with home ownership, these women must overcome tremendous hurdles to find acceptable, affordable housing.You can read the report here.

Update: the Council meeting on Monday 21st November

John, Margaret, Michael, Gillian, Fay, Dom, Sarah, Sigrid, Janice, Bronwyn and Sue at the council chambers after the motion was passed.

Members of the public together with members of affiliated groups who make up Sutherland Sydney Alliance turned up at the council meeting to demonstrate our support for the affordable housing recommendations to be adopted. What was on offer was insufficient to meet our community’s needs in the way of affordable housing rental, but we consider the resolution passed on Monday to be first steps, not last, and the aspirations to be a floor not a ceiling. We will continue to support any progress being made towards that goal and to campaign against any dilution or corruption of the report recommendations.

To more quickly and efficiently achieve a suitable level of affordable housing rental, we promote incorporating the following levers: the recommended contribution scheme, Inclusionary Zoning for both residential and non-residential; a target of 15% (and on government owned land, 30%); and Affordable Rental Accommodation titles in perpetuity. 

We call for more education of Councillors and the community at large on the distinction between Affordable Housing Rental and social housing, to avoid further false equivalences confusing or misleading debate when decisions are being made. Further education is also needed to counter the unfortunate misunderstanding or false labeling of the contribution scheme as a tax; it is a trade-off in exchange for development permissions and concessions, and a fair contribution to the community in exchange for the extra burdens wrought by higher-density development. 

We are grateful to the CEO and staff of Shelter NSW, the peak body in NSW for housing policy advocacy, for conducting a Councillor Briefing Session on the previous week, which was warmly received by many councillors, who found it to be highly educational.