Waverley Mayor Paula Masselos is calling for a mayors’ roundtable with NSW Premier Chris Minns as a forum to factor in both local challenges and wider infrastructural issues – and help provide solutions.
“I applaud the Premier’s goal to increase affordable housing stock and it’s a goal many local councils share, including Waverley Council,” Mayor Masselos said.
“This forum can really help make practical, in perpetuity solutions a reality.”
On 15 June, Premier Minns officially announced a range of incentives for large private developments containing at least 15 per cent affordable housing, homes typically offered at 20-25 per cent below the market rate for 15 years, often managed by not-for-profits.
Mayor Masselos said it is important to focus on ways councils can be supported to provide long-term housing stock.
“The requirement that eligible developments only need to provide a proportion of their units as affordable housing for 15 years is not going to address the long-term requirements for such housing,” Mayor Masselos said.
“What Waverley Council proposes is funding would be provided to local councils to purchase and manage affordable housing in perpetuity.”
Waverley Council currently owns 22 affordable housing units and 40 social housing units with many more owned privately or in partnership with Community Housing Providers.
“At Waverley Council, we understand high density living and this is the type of expertise and experience we can bring to the table as a local council,” Mayor Masselos said.
“Each area has its own challenges with Waverley Council itself having the second highest population density of any LGA in Australia with 7,490 people per square kilometre as compared to the Sydney average density of 2135 persons per sq km.
“What’s left of our affordable housing stock is being snapped up by developers, and is being replaced by small, overly expensive units that do not cater to the diverse housing needs of our community. So, we need to look at local solutions to meet those challenges.”
“At the same time, it’s not just about houses and apartments because we also need to factor in the infrastructure that supports those homes,” Mayor Masselos said. “Traffic congestion, schools and hospitals at capacity, and the capacity of sewerage systems are just some of the issues that need bigger picture planning capacity of state level government complemented with councils knowledge and understanding of the lived experience on the ground.”
