8 November 2024 

In this Edition...

1.NSW now running third in terms of housing approvals

2. Barcelona implements a rent freeze – rental stock plummets

3. ETU dispute – first sign of resolution

...and much, much more.

4. Parramatta Council releases draft Planning Proposal for North-East Planning Investigation Area
5. Draft Orchard Hills Stage 1 rezoning proposal and structure plan released 
6. More building skills needed to address housing supply crisis
7. Further delays on Riverstone East Stage 3 Indicative Layout Plan
8.  State Design Review Panel moves review sessions to the Mint
9. Other news 
10. Urban Taskforce in the news
11. Members in the news

1. NSW now running third in terms of housing approvals

The third place housing approvals blues… 

Sometimes a simple stat reveals the truth when it comes to housing supply. Last week’s ABS data on housing approvals revealed that NSW - the nation’s largest state in terms of population and the economy, is now running third on housing approvals – behind Victoria and Queensland!

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Building Approvals, Australia September 2024

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Building Approvals, Australia September 2024

While monthly approval figures can bounce around, the long-term trend in NSW is a downwards one. A fundamental change in culture is needed in NSW to turn the housing supply ship around. Meanwhile Victoria and Queensland rightfully boast that they are ahead of the curve!

It is clear the status quo is not working in NSW. The Minns Government needs to finalise the TOD 1 Accelerated precincts and mid-rise housing reforms, rethink the feasibility killing affordable housing contributions and ease the burden of taxes on new housing supply - at least until the Accord period is over.

Planning reforms must be focused on generating confidence for investors in moving forward on housing, remove uncertainties, speed up timeframes, and remove barriers to new housing.

2. Barcelona implements a rent freeze – rental stock plummets

The Washington Post this week reported on housing supply issues fanning populist ‘solutions’ on the far right and far left. The article referred to the socialist-led City Council of Barcelona imposing rent controls – which promptly saw a slight decrease in rents, but was accompanied by a 38% collapse in rental housing stock.

As the head of Spanish Property insight told the paper:

Barcelona – great if you have a rental, disastrous if you don’t
Image source: iStock.com/Vunav V

Anthony Albanese, Peter Dutton and Max Chandler Mather, should take note.

The Greens Party is starting to talk up its prospects of having a say in any form of future minority Government and rent freezes are very much part of their disastrous economic plan for the nation.

As cities like Barcelona and Buenos Aires show, the path to failure is paved with good intentions.

*Please note, the below link may be paywall protected

3. ETU dispute – first sign of resolution

Developers and new home buyers are the meat in the sandwich in this dispute

On Tuesday, the Fair Work Commission convened to hear final arguments from the ETU and Endeavour Energy regarding the ETU’s application for FWC to declare an intractable bargaining position. After 10 months of offers, counter offers and protected industrial action, which has cost our members and the community tens of millions of dollars, the outcome was keenly awaited.

The Commission came back on Wednesday with a decision to make an Intractable Bargaining Declaration under S235 (1) of the Fair Work Act.

This now triggers a 14-day lifting of Protected Industrial Action (PIA) to allow for bargaining between the parties to take place.  If that is not successful in resolving the matter, the dispute moves to mediation overseen by the Fair Work Australia.  The ultimate step is a process of arbitration.  It is expected that the PIA will not be re-instated, but this is a decision for the Fair Work Commission.

Importantly, this means that any industrial action undertaken by Electrical Trades Union (ETU) members is no longer protected and Endeavour Energy has stated that it expects all Protected Industrial Action (PIA) will now cease, effective immediately.

Urban Taskforce is advised that as early as Thursday morning, booked outages were proceeding as planned for the first time in months.

While the ETU has been forced to drop its strike actions targeting Endeavour, the disputes with other energy companies – Ausgrid, Essential Energy and Transgrid are also hopefully close to a similar end to their PIA.

The response from the Federal Government has been deathly silence, while the NSW Government struggles to explain how it has handled the dispute.

The innocent victims here are developers (and those wishing to move into new homes and businesses) who have managed to shepherd their developments through to completion, only to confront a farcical situation where they simply cannot connect their homes to the electricity network. 

Housing and jobs are the meat in the sandwich. 

Meanwhile the impact of the dispute is gaining more and more attention in the media.

CEO Tom Forrest told the SMH the best way forward would be an application by the State and/or Federal Government to make an application to the Fair Work Commission.

Speaking earlier to the Daily Telegraph, Tom called for some political leadership on this protracted dispute wreaking havoc on housing prices and supply.

It appears the State and Federal Government don’t want to poke the big bear that is the ETU. 

Urban Taskforce has been working behind (and in front) of the scenes, to keep this issue at the forefront of policy makers’ minds. With a growing appreciation for the details of the largely untested Fair Work Act, we are starting to see some light at the end of the tunnel.

Urban Taskforce urges the ETU and the Energy companies, particularly Ausgrid and Essential Energy, for which the period of protected industrial action could continue until April 2025, to compromise. 

At the very least, stop cancelling these critical booked outages that enable new housing supply to be occupied.

4. Parramatta Council releases draft Planning Proposal for North-East Planning Investigation Area

The City of Parramatta Council is exhibiting a Planning Proposal and draft Development Control Plan (DCP) for the land known as the North-East Planning Investigation Area (NEPIA) shown in the figure below.

Location of the North-East Planning Investigation Area (NEPIA)

New height and built form controls could deliver an additional 515 homes. The proposed new controls consider the heritage character of the surrounding area, and the anticipated high-density development along the Parramatta Light Rail corridor on Church Street.

 The public exhibition of the proposal is open to comment up until 19 December 2024.

  Council is proposing the following changes to the planning controls in the NEPIA:

1. Increase the Floor Space Ratio (FSR) from 0.8:1 to a range of 2:1 and 3.6:1 in the Parramatta Local Environmental Plan 2023 (PLEP 2023).
2. Increase the Height of Buildings from 11m to a range of 24m (i.e. 6 storeys) and 40m (12 storeys) in the PLEP 2023.
3. Introduce new planning and design controls in the Parramatta Development Control Plan 2023 to guide how future development is delivered.

5. Draft Orchard Hills Stage 1 rezoning proposal and structure plan released 

The NSW Minister for Planning, Paul Scully, has released a draft Stage One rezoning proposal for the precinct surrounding the Orchard Hills metro development, due to open along with the new airport in 2026.

The draft proposal provides for approximately 11,600 new homes. The fine print reveals that these new homes are to be delivered over a 25-year timeframe!

Under the proposal, the signature building adjoining the metro could be 22 storeys with mixed use zoning. There appears to be a generous allocation of R4 zonings within walking distance of the station.

The fly in the ointment is feasibility. The feasibility assessment attached to the proposal suggests that high density residential will not be viable for at least 5-15 years after the opening of the metro.

Feasibility is made worse by the proposed section 7.11 local infrastructure contributions.

According to the EIE, moost development within Stage 1 will be located within the Wianamatta-South Creek sub catchment, where the local contribution rates could range from $83,960 – $118,654 per dwelling.

Within the Claremont Creek sub catchment, the local contribution rates could range from $86,854 - $132,119 per dwelling.

These potential charges would blow feasibility out the window. No wonder the feasibility assessment for high rise in the precinct is grim. 

Comment on the draft is being sought up until 12 December.  

6. More building skills needed to address housing supply crisis

Source: Build Skills Australia

7. Further delays on draft Riverstone East Stage 3 Indicative Layout Plan

The ongoing delays are exasperating

This week Urban Taskforce was advised that the draft Riverstone East Stage 3 ILP may now only be finalised by the middle of next year. The critical work has been stuck with NSW Planning for 4 years!

The rezoning was originally meant to be finalised by mid-2024, then September, and we reported recently that had been pushed back until December. Now we learn that DPHI cannot even put a date as to when the plan will be finalised - hoping that it occurs “in the first half of 2025”!

8. State Design Review Panel moves review sessions to the Mint

The Mint – Architect unknown, built by convicts!

The NSW State Design Review Panel has relocated its review sessions to take place at The Mint, 10 Macquarie St, Sydney. DPHI claim that moving to a NSW Government-owned space will provide cost efficiencies and the venue includes improved technology and facilities.

Many say the panels are an indulgence, given that private sector developers are required to use registered and suitably qualified architects (many the same as those on the list) to design new multi-storey apartment buildings under NSW law. 

In many cases, particularly in Sydney’s CBD’s International Design Competitions are mandatory and then they are reviewed by Design Review Panels – often with completely different recommendations.

Our experience of the role of Design Review Panels has too often shown them to be an indulgent exercise in debates on opinion. 

At least they can now indulge in a masterpiece reportedly inspired by Governor Macquarie’s time in India during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore war in 1799! Nice.

9. Other news 

1.    Free TAFE legislation introduced into Federal Parliament

This week the Federal Minister for Skills and Training, Andrew Giles, introduced a Bill which provides for the funding of at least 100,000 Fee-Free TAFE places a year from 2027. This builds on the Albanese Government partnership with states and territories to deliver 180,000 Fee-Free TAFE places in 2023; 300,000 places over three years from 2024; with agreements being finalised for a further 20,000 construction and housing Fee-Free places.

2.    Unlocking global opportunities 

Urban Taskforce CEO Tom Forrest will be a panelist on Tuesday 26 November as part of #CapTech2024, a premier summit bringing together the brightest minds and innovators from across the globe.  

For more details, contact info@sipbn.com.au, or visit www.sipbn.com.au.

10.  Urban Taskforce in the news

Urban Taskforce continues to champion the redevelopment of Rosehill racecourse:

11. Members in the news

*Please note these articles may be paywall protected

“…The Cameron Brae Group’s latest $19.6m proposal marks the next phase in the development of the 2100-home Birling Estate, planned for 975 The Northern Road, Cobbitty - just 8km from Western Sydney Airport and 5km from Oran Park ...read more... 

To read more, click here:                     Macarthur Chronicle, 25 October

“… Industrial property powerhouse Goodman Group has locked in more power for a new wave of data centres being developed globally ...read more... 

To read more, click here:                     The Australian, 6 November

“…Property sector heavyweight Deicorp has lifted the cover on a 1185-apartment scheme aimed at making a dint in the undersupplied housing market in Sydney’s inner west …read more...

To read more, click here:                         The Urban Developer, 6 November