REGIONAL CITIES NSW NAME HOUSING AS KEY ELECTION ISSUE

Regional Cities New South Wales (RCNSW) is today putting housing on the agenda ahead of the March election, saying that the lack of available housing is a potential risk to regional growth.

“Regional living is well and truly on the agenda, however the lack of available housing is impacting people’s ability to move to the regions” Cr Mathew Dickerson Chair of RCNSW and Mayor of Dubbo Regional Council said.

“Housing availability has been severely impacted by numerous natural disasters across our state as well as major infrastructure projects requiring temporary accommodation” Cr Dickerson explained.

RCNSW acknowledges the actions and investment brought about by state and federal governments to begin the task of addressing the shortfall of housing across the state, however there is more work to be done to address these complex and difficult issues.

RCNSW is seeking bipartisan support for the Regional Housing Taskforce recommendations, and continued support for the regional housing package and build-to-rent developments.

Once the outcome of the election is known, RCNSW will be calling on the newly elected Government to continue to work closely with local councils to increase the supply of housing by identifying and activating unused land, including crown land.

“Regional councils are experiencing a skills shortage like many other businesses, and State Government support to address a lack of suitably qualified regional planners would go a long way to helping regional cities expedite development applications” Cr Dickerson explained.

RCNSW has also advocated that growth pressures such as housing would be better planned and managed if the Government developed a NSW population plan that allows for improved forecasting and investment across growing regions.