15 November 2024 

In this Edition...

STOP PRESS - Housing Delivery Authority Announced!

1.Gobbledygook approvals flowchart just a taste of the “gruesome entirety” of the NSW Planning System 

2. Urban Taskforce sends Premier’s office the top five priorities to start to turn housing supply around

3. Quote of the week

...and much, much more.

4. SMH and Telegraph both on the Government’s case
5. New Queensland Government - quick off the mark with housing
6. Big blow against North Sydney Council weaponising heritage to block housing
7.  Minns Government brings a ‘secret’ housing taskforce out from the cold
8. Sydney Water suffers unexpected operational issues in NW Sydney
9. Could the Government build the Sydney Harbour Bridge under the current planning laws? And if so, how quickly??
10. Albanese Government belatedly announces fund for states embracing productivity inducing reform
11. NSW Housing Minister – not her best day
12. More rear-guard action to retain cement, gypsum and sand supplies at White Bay
13. Usual suspects – the National Trust now trying to thwart tech central plans
14. Urban Taskforce in the news
15. Council Watch 
16. Members in the news

Housing Delivery Authority Announced!

In a major announcement at today’s Bradfield Oration, NSW Premier Chris Minns and Planning Minister Paul Scully jointly unveiled the ‘Housing Delivery Authority,’ a new body housed within the DPHI, but independent from it, and designed to fast-track high-stakes development projects across the state.

This newly established state-led approval pathway will wield significant power, independently assessing projects worth over $60 million in Greater Sydney and $30 million in Regional NSW. It can also deal with spot rezonings sought by applicants with these rezonings amending existing council planning controls. In a move to streamline approvals, Planning Minister Scully will personally make determinations.

The authority is set to hit the ground running in early 2025, with a high-calibre team, including Secretary of the Premier’s Department, Simon Draper, Chief Executive of Infrastructure NSW, Tom Gellibrand and Secretary of the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure, Kiersten Fishburn (who has been central to the creation of this new body). These experts will be tasked with speeding up the pipeline of planning proposals and development applications. This development comes on the heels of Minister Scully’s recent launch of the Housing Taskforce aimed at clearing planning bottlenecks (see story 7).

This is a massive step forward and has the potential to effectively reverse the “hand it all over to the Councils” philosophy of the former Government which delivered us the crisis.

The Premier emphasised that the biggest problem for NSW is the planning system. Time and money costs are too high and the system needs to speed up - young people are leaving. This is a big statement and the new Authority is welcomed by Urban Taskforce members. Congratulation are in order for the Premier Minns and the Planning Minister Scully.

The Government, led by Premier Minns and Planning Minister Scully, has taken big steps to overcome a broken planning system. The is Government taking responsibility and pushing through the NIMBY attitude of many councils which has held us back. This is the bold reform we have been waiting for.

1.Gobbledygook approvals flowchart just a taste of the “gruesome entirety” of the NSW Planning System 

The sense of frustration from the NSW Premier, with the moribund, byzantine system that is NSW Planning, spilled out onto the front page of The Daily Telegraph this week. Premier Chris Minns commissioned the DPHI to set out on a single piece of paper how a home is approved in NSW.

Typically, it took DPHI 3 months to prepare the advice for the Premier. This is the same Department which is still yet to finalise the TOD Tier One Accelerated precinct and the Low- and Mid-Rise Reforms.

It seems Premier Minns was so shocked at the response, he dropped it to the Telegraph!

Amongst all the commentary, the Premier himself made the most pointed criticism of the flowchart produced by Planning:

The tortuous, “snakes and ladders” style game governing the process of getting housing built in NSW exposes why NSW has one of the worst planning systems in the world, and why we need more than just tinkering at the edges to get on top of the housing supply we need.  We need a change in culture driven by legislation which puts a broom through this labyrinth.

And this map is for a basic development application – it’s just the beginning of the pain.

When you add in burgeoning building regulations, local and state infrastructure charges, state government plus local government affordable housing levies (taxes)and an array of other government-sponsored fees, taxes and charges, the convoluted planning system is just one factor adding to a state of play not conducive to encouraging investment in housing.

Taxes and charges obviously drive up the cost of the delivery of housing.  But with interest rates as high as they are, so does time.  This is why planning reform is so critical.  Multiple requirements for public exhibition. Duplicative process of the euphemistically named “requests for information” from Council officers and agency staff looking for any excuse to get the application off their desk.  Time consuming and expensive design review obligations, even when the project team is using top tier award winning architects.  All this must change.

All this against the backdrop of labour shortages, skyrocketing construction costs and project feasibility challenges. It explains why NSW is stuck in a rut with flatlining approvals, commencements and completions. It’s complicated because … well … it’s complicated!

There is no surprise to Urban Taskforce members, but the front page of the Telegraph illustrates to the broader public why we are not producing the housing needed to meet a growing population.

CEO Tom Forrest spoke to the Daily Telegraph of the NSW planning woes, saying that the crisis was a result of politicians being afraid to mount the case in the Parliament and change the laws.  Even the changes made in SEPPS have been timid – one step forward, two steps backwards – and meanwhile, housing approvals decline.

The housing supply crisis did not come out of the blue. It has been on a slow burn for almost a decade. COVID should have been an opportunity for root and branch reform so that the State came out of the pandemic in good shape and ready to meet the challenges of housing supply. This is where Chris Minns and Paul Scully are correct to shed substantial blame to their political opponents. But he’s had 18 months, and the problem is now his to fix.

The established NIMBY voices, regulatory creep, and a view that the producers of new housing were ripe for the picking when it came to government revenue, has not only prevailed, but strengthened.

As we have said over the past 18 months, the Minns Government was elected in part to address the housing supply crisis.

It enjoys an overwhelming social licence to do what it takes to turn the planning ship around.

The Premier’s rhetoric has been good. But what has been lacking is runs on the board. The media are picking up on this and it could become a millstone for the government.

It seems, this week, the Premier has decided enough is enough. What follows in the following weeks will be critical if NSW is to sort out onerous complexity that is the NSW regulatory system overseeing the supply of housing in NSW.  

2.Urban Taskforce sends Premier’s office the top five priorities to start to turn housing supply around

We shall keep members apprised of feedback/response from the Premier’s office on these tangible proposals to improve the planning system in NSW and boost housing supply.

3. Quote of the week

A Daily Telegraph reader, Rob, reflected what many in NSW think, commenting on our role in highlighting the inadequacies of the NSW Planning system.

We are yet to confirm whether “Rob” is actually, the former Planning Minister, Rob Stokes. 

4. SMH and Telegraph both on the Government’s case

It’s not just the Telegraph team and the Premier who are gob-smacked over the dreadful performance of the NSW Planning system.

SMH these week quoted Sydney Uni academic Peter Phibbs, noting that only 45 per cent of the 895 development applications for Sydney projects with at least 19 new dwellings approved in 2021 and 2022 had received a construction certificate by March 2024.

Projects comprising a staggering total of 47,536 dwellings were left without a construction certificate.

The DAs were feasible for development when they were lodged, but by the time they get through the system (years), costs have gone up, NIMBYs have convinced planners to drop the yield (height, density, separation between buildings, setbacks from the street and 78 other restrictions or caveats), the DA is not worth progressing.

It also reveals just how disconnected the various arms of the NSW government are when it comes to housing supply.  Anyone who has ever tried to get a Works Authorisation Deed (WAD) agreed with Transport for NSW would know that delivering housing is NOT their priority!

These stalled projects would go a long way to lift NSW’s planning performance – indeed the entire economy.  They should set up a secret group of bureaucrats in a dark place in Parramatta and sort these issues out (behold – see story 7 !!!).

The SMH noted our recent advice to members of the delayed update of the Greater Sydney UDP dashboard, which showed completions down 18% over the five-year average.

*Please note, the below link may be paywall protected 

5. New Queensland Government - quick off the mark with housing

The Treasurer and Minister for Home Ownership, has formally instructed Treasury to abolish Stamp Duty for first home buyers on new builds. Queensland is already a far more attractive proposition for developers – the new Queensland Government appears set to build on this.

The Queensland Premier backed this with an announcement proposing new laws (which in a unicameral system is as good as passed!) aiming to rein in the skyrocketing cost of housing across the state.

The focus appears to be on pausing the Best Practice Industry Conditions (BPIC) on new government-funded construction projects until a full review can be conducted by the soon-to-be-re-established Queensland Productivity Commission (QPC).

The BPIC to date has inflated construction costs and led to costly distortions in the labour market. Affecting Government projects, the policy has had flow-on effects on housing projects across the State.

6. Big blow against North Sydney Council weaponising heritage to block housing

As it is currently

Holding Redlich acted for the Applicant in a successful merit appeal handed down last week which relied in part on cl 5.10(10), resulting in development consent for an award-winning building 350 metres from the new Crows Nest Metro Station.

Council opposed the application by spuriously arguing that the word "land" in cl 5.10(10) is confined only to the footprint of the heritage building. After clarifying that "the conservation incentives at cl 5.10(10) are facultative", the Court stated that if Council's view held, then "there is no purpose served by the phrase "or the land on which such a building is erected" in clause 5.10(10). Council also argued that cl 5.10(10) only applied to "those sites where the land bears an identical description to that land" on which the heritage building was "originally erected ... absent subsequent subdivision or consolidation".

The Court stated that this interpretation "would appear to conflict with the otherwise facultative character" of cl 5.10(10) and be unlikely to give effect to the objective intention of Parliament in drafting the provision."

The Court held that the land on which the heritage item is erected was the land as identified in the LEP (and not just the building). It followed that cl 5.10(10) applied to the whole consolidated site and not just the building as originally erected.

This clarification on cl 5.10(10) (although the wording is clear on its face) is welcome - and important - particularly where such a provision achieves the multiple goals of conserving heritage, making heritage accessible, and achieving housing supply targets.

A good result for Thomas Kwok and his team at Holding Redlich.

7. Minns Government brings a ‘secret’ housing taskforce out from the cold

NSW Planning Minister, Paul Scully, this week announced that a housing taskforce, apparently established in ‘secret’ back in September 2024, will now be formally established.

The Taskforce brings together staff from multiple NSW Government agencies and departments to go line-by-line through projects clogged in the system to solve problems and unblock applications. They purportedly met in a room in Parramatta - which would not be too difficult given the number of planning bureaucrats still working from home!

The Minister says the Housing Taskforce has already unlocked over 13,000 homes by removing bureaucratic delays in the development process. The focus has been on reducing complexity and coordinating multiple agencies, each with their own procedures and priorities.

Getting various agencies around the table is an important step.

While resolving longstanding issues doesn’t equate to systemic change, the Housing Taskforce stands as another mechanism which will hopefully smash through Government silos and bureaucratic blockages and help speed the broken planning pipeline.

Out from the cold – NSW Housing Taskforce

8. Sydney Water suffers unexpected operational issues in NW Sydney

Urban Taskforce notes with concern an update from Sydney Water from a fortnight ago where an “unexpected operational issue” with an existing wastewater rising main at Windsor Road in Vineyard has temporarily affected the sewage pumping station (SPS1154).

This is preventing new developments in the area from connecting to our wastewater network. To address this issue, Sydney Water are working to design and construct a duplicate main to service new development in the area.

Parts of Alex Avenue, Box Hill, Box Hill Industrial, Riverstone, Riverstone East, The Ponds and Vineyard Stage 1 are affected.

There does not appear to be an interim solution as yet. We are seeking further explanation from Sydney Water and the Minister for Water’s office as to precisely what “some delay” means for pending connections, but right now, it looks like being a major constraint well into next year!

Sydney Water advises that if your development is within the affected areas and has already been issued a Section 73 Certificate, your development can connect as planned.

If you have an active Section 73 Notice of Requirements, Sydney Water will contact you directly to provide an update.

9. Could the Government build the Sydney Harbour Bridge under the current planning laws? And if so, how quickly??

The Daily Telegraph this week questions how a city shaping project like the Sydney Harbour bridge would fare under the current planning laws in NSW. Urban Taskforce CEO, Tom Forrest, speculated on the barriers, hurdles and delays that would face a government seeking to building the Sydney Harbour Bridge today:

Tom compared the building of the harbour bridge with the interminable delays over constructing a bike ramp from North Sydney onto the bridge.

The ramp project was announced in 2014 and funded in 2016 – and is only now being constructed thanks to the NIMBY objectors at Milson’s Point and in North Sydney Council.

During the same time frame – the Sydney Harbour Bridge was commenced and completed. The Sydney Harbour bride was approved through the Sydney Harbour Act 1922. The first sod turning occurred on 28 July 1923 and the official opening of the bridge taking place within 10 years - the opening on 19 March 1932.

*Please note, the below link may be paywall protected 

 Property Person of the Year - Tickets on sale!

10. Albanese Government belatedly announces fund for states embracing productivity inducing reform.

The fund appears to be upfront, unlike the New Home Bonus tied to the National Housing Accord targets, which has been structured as a potential payment at the end of the 5 year Accord. The Albanese Government needs to urgently review the timing of this fund.

This $900 million funding package is a downpayment on what Urban Taskforce has been calling for – to revive National Competition Policy and assist States embarking on the often difficult and costly path of reform.

Stamp duty reform is a case in point. Widely regarded among economists as the worst tax in Australia, it is a fiscal sugar hit for cash strapped states.

But the size of the problem suggests $900 million in compensation to be spread across the states and territories is be a drop in the ocean.

This feels like a token nod to the inspiration of Keating, who worked with Wayne Goss in Queensland, Nick Greiner and Bob Carr in NSW, Jeff Kennett in Victoria and both Carmen Lawrence and Richard Court of WA to deliver substantial tax reform and productivity improvements.

The idea is right – but the Commonwealth needs to get serious and add a zero or two to the equation.  That would stimulate reform!

The Treasurer’s fund announced this week is a step in the right direction and follows Urban Taskforce’s repeated recommendations for the Commonwealth to embrace the reformist zeal of the Hawke-Keating-Howard years.

This week’s announcement is something for future governments to build on.

11. NSW Housing Minister – not her best day

Politicians, particularly Ministers, are often derided for being out of touch with the economic reality facing the rest of society.

Not knowing the price of a litre of milk, a litre of petrol or a loaf of bread can cause great political damage.

NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson had her version of a shocker this week when asked by the ABC what the average rent paid for a 2-bedroom flat in Sydney:

Ooops.

The median rental price for a unit in Sydney was $720 a week, according to the latest Domain data.

Minister Jackson has been a strong voice for housing supply and the abolition of planning red tape. This case of gotcha politics will make her stronger.

12. More rearguard action to retain cement, gypsum and sand supplies at White Bay

Urban Taskforce was bemused to see calls from the Sydney Business Chamber efforts to put a ring fence around a few cement, sand and gypsum plants at White Bay.

The Government’s decision to invest billions on a new metro station at the Bays precinct must deliver housing and urban renewal.

Urban Taskforce continues to champion the case for housing, jobs and why we need to transform the Bays Precinct, with CEO, Tom Forrest interviewed by Channel Ten News:

CEO Tom Forrest, speaking with 10 News, 14 November 2024

The old Maritime Services Board mentality is a faint echo of a Sydney long gone. Maintaining Sydney as a quasi-working harbour was abandoned by Governments 30 years ago. The last thing needed is the retention of a giant hardstand area in order to cater for the nostalgia of a few Maritime Service Board members.

Our take from July – nothing has changed…

13. Usual suspects – the National Trust now trying to thwart tech central plans

Speaking of rearguard, the Hanrahans at the National Trust have objected to minor alterations to the old postal building at Central.

TOGA Central includes the adaptive reuse of the postal building – also known as the Adina Hotel – to include a commercial lobby and hotel concierge facilities, cafe and restaurant, co-working space, function and conference area, and a rooftop terrace.

Like the White Bay issue, it is a storm in a teacup that seeks to thwart Government plans. We think Urbis’s response to the National Trust submission sums the matter up succinctly:

*Please note, the below link may be paywall protected

14. Urban Taskforce in the news

In a busy week for all things planning and housing, Tom also appeared on ABC News to reign in on New South Wales' struggles to meet its housing targets and the exodus of the development community from Sydney to Melbourne and Queensland.

ABC News emphasised the needs to approve 6,000 homes monthly if the state is to reach its five-year target of 377,000 new dwellings, but that the current approvals are far below that number.

The ABS covered The NSW Government's "secret task force" that recently expedited 13,000 homes, including a project in Newcastle that had been stalled for over two years. However, critics argue that reducing assessment times won't fully address the deeper issues, such as the high costs of land and labour, which continue to hinder housing growth.

Tom also spoke with 2SM on the good, bad and decidedly ugly in council land when it comes to housing approvals

It followed a Daily Telegraph story where Tom urged the Government to use more stick and less of the carrots when it came to dealing with some Councils who, at the end of the day, were diametrically opposed to more housing in their LGA’s

We think Urbis’s response to the National Trust submission sums the matter up succinctly:

The Minister responded by saying that a number of Councils were on his ‘watch-list’. We await what action will be done with those deemed recalcitrant.

15. Council watch

Inner west

Looks like the new Labor controlled Inner West Council is ironically not afraid of blowing the odd dog whistle if it suits their agenda to oppose more well-located housing.

In this case it is the long running saga of the redevelopment of the old Balmain Leagues Club. The owners are seeking to use the 30% infill affordable housing bonus on the site The proposal, to be assessed by DPHI through the state significant development pathway, aligns with the NSW Government’s strategic direction to deliver more residential floor space, specifically housing. Affordable housing units will make up 15% of the total gross floor area (GFA) of the building, resulting in 59 affordable housing units.

Yet this has prompted a shameful, over-the-top response from the Mayor. We were particularly concerned with the singling out of the proponent as “foreign-owned” – a slur  you would expect from politicians way further to the right.

Is the Mayor suggesting that the fact the proponent is a foreign controlled entity should prejudice their application in the eyes of Planning? We need to encourage investment in new housing if we are to get on top of the housing supply crisis that this council has helped create.

We await the decision from DPHI.

Parramatta City Council

Another Council opposing more housing arising from the Infill Affordable Housing Bonus scheme, which right now is the only policy successfully driving the development of high-density residential projects, thereby addressing the state's housing shortage.

An additional 101 apartments are proposed (including 19 affordable units) right opposite Beecroft station.

A central issue in this debate is the council's insistence on stringent car parking requirements for new developments. This approach overlooks the evolving dynamics of urban transportation, where car usage is increasingly discretionary. Conservative traffic models lead to an overestimation of congestion impacts and fail to accurately reflect contemporary urban mobility patterns.

A modern and nuanced understanding of traffic that allows developers the flexibility to determine parking provisions based on actual market demand would lead to more efficient land use, reducing new apartment prices.

Housing diversity and choice is best met through the market, not the idle ponderings of Council staff!

DPHI’s decision on this project will highlight whether they remain part of the problem or possibly part of the solution to the housing supply crisis.

16. Members in the news

*Please note these articles may be paywall protected

“…Traders in Purple has revealed what it is planning to do with their recently acquired riverfront site in Brisbane's West End ...read more... 

To read more, click here:                     Urban.com.au, 8 November

“… Edward Doueihi’s company Ceerose has poured “millions and millions of dollars down the drain” on one residential development in Leichhardt which has been stuck in the bowels of the planning system for years ...read more... 

To read more, click here:                     The Daily Telegraph, 11 November

“…Stockland, one of the country’s largest housing developers, has upgraded its earnings expectations by around 3 per cent for the 2025 financial year …read more...

To read more, click here:                       AFR, 11 November

“…Chinese property giant Aqualand has been among the early movers to jump on opportunities…read more...

To read more, click here:                         AFR, 13 November

“…Property developer Aqualand Group has launched a new prestige arm offering wholesale investors, institutional funds and wealthy private investors the chance to back select projects…  …read more...

To read more, click here:                         The Australian, 13 November

“…Property developer Deicorp has submitted plans for the new Kings Bay Village precinct in Sydney’s Five Dock, which will span 1185 apartments, alongside parks and retail and commercial space, as it steps up its pace of development…read more...

To read more, click here:                         The Australian, 14 November