14 MARCH 2025

In this Edition...

1. $1 billion for Metro corridors starts to fill in the gaps

2. NSW Treasurer - his focus on land use planning reform is good, but what about the other factors impacting housing???

3. NSW Planning Minister brandishes stick to laggard Councils

...and much, much more.

4. Fifteenth Avenue upgrade won’t be complete until 2040
5. Biodiversity Conservation Act changes a backward step for housing supply and choice
6. Assistant NSW Building Commissioner – morning tea
7. Housing opportunities on former Westconnex sites
8. Council Watch...the worst councils for housing approvals, affordable housing taxes spread west
9. Follow our new LinkedIn Page
10. Members in the news

1. $1 billion for Metro corridors starts to fill in the gaps

This week saw a positive announcement from the Commonwealth, with the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese committing $1 billion towards the acquisition of 3 metro corridors in Sydney’s north west and south west.

We have unabashedly championed the need for a better deal for Western Sydney infrastructure, which is why the Daily Telegraph went straight to Urban Taskforce for our take on the funding announcement:

Urban Taskforce put out a media release welcoming the commitment and calling on the Federal Opposition to match it.

Within a matter of hours, it was pleasing to see the Coalition respond by matching the $1 billion commitment. That means that regardless of which party forms Government in May, the acquisition of the Metro corridors will proceed.

*Please note, the below link may be paywall protected

Acquiring these corridors – St Marys to Tallawong, as well as two corridors from the new Western Sydney Airport to Leppington, and Campbelltown was a smart and strategic use of public funds – sending the strongest signal to the property development community, investors and the broader community how a growing Western Sydney will unfold.

A critical missing link that still needs to be addressed is enhanced road and/or public transport connections to South Macarthur - a region where 22,000 homes are in the pipeline but still need a satisfactory transport link. 

Urban Taskforce has been calling on the Commonwealth to roll up its sleeves when it comes to housing and job enabling infrastructure funding – particularly when it comes to the Western Sydney airport. This week’s announcement paints a more comprehensive picture for Western Sydney in terms of infrastructure delivery, coming off the back of:

• $2 billion for Western Sydney Roads in the 2024 Federal Budget
• $1 billion for Fifteenth Ave announced in January 2025
• $1 billion for water infrastructure projects also announced in January 2025

Linking Western Sydney airport to Kingsford Smith and Sydney's South-West – a good move

2. NSW Treasurer - his focus on land use planning reform is good, but what about the other factors impacting housing???

Considered the brightest spark in NSW Cabinet, the recent comments by NSW Treasurer, Daniel Mookhey, were a much-welcomed return to the planning and housing policy space.

We were so pleased here at the Urban Taskforce, we made it our quote of the week:

Linking the need to boost flagging productivity with land use planning reform represents a timely contribution from the Treasurer and demonstrates the importance of the planning framework as a key driver of an array of economic performance indicators.

The involvement of the Treasurer and Treasury in the whole planning reform agenda is very positive. The NSW Productivity and Equity Commissioner, Peter Achterstraat, has been a beacon of hope for the thousands out there who can't afford to buy or rent a home. Interestingly “better regulation” is currently the responsibility of the over-worked Anoulack Chanthivong (Minister for Better Regulation and Fair Trading, Minister for Building, Minister for Corrections, Minister for Industry and Trade, and Minister for Innovation, Science and Technology and Member for Macquarie Fields).

Better Regulation is all about effective regulation that does not work against the interests of the economy, and that is a matter best led by the Treasurer!

No regulation should be approved without being subjected to detailed scrutiny by the guards within Treasury protecting our economy from over regulation.

While Planning Reform is critical, fees, taxes, charges and regulatory red and green tape are key drivers of rising house prices. So much so that the Housing Industry Association released a timely report this week on the costs added to housing through taxes, regulations and developer contributions.

In no surprise to what is now universally acclaimed to be the worst planning system in the world, Sydney won the race for imposing the greatest burden on housing costs by a country mile. Even the capital of the Peoples’ Republic of Victoria ran a distant second:

Source: CIE & HIA

Source: CIE & HIA

The report, prepared by the Centre for International Economics, is an update of the 2019 report, which shows that the cost of government taxes, fees and charges and other regulatory costs had increased by 38% over the past 5 years.

Politicians from both sides of the political fence have been sucking the housing sector dry, just when the economic environment for housing was deteriorating. The introduction of the ironically named Housing Productivity Contribution (HPC) and the reintroduction of Sydney Water’s Delivery Service Plans, along with the rampant growth in local infrastructure charges, have all made matters worse.

The cumulative impacts on both housing supply and the cost of housing are staggering and cannot be ignored by the NSW Government.

While the NSW Government has shown that it is willing and able to pull the land use planning levers since coming to power, it has shown little interest in the array of fees, taxes, charges and regulatory costs that continue to thwart housing supply in NSW. In fact, it has gotten worse in NSW since 2023.

Treasury needs to show leadership across Government and be an advocate for less taxes and less red tape on new housing.  

As we want to say, you don’t increase taxes on a baker in the midst of a bread shortage.

3. NSW Planning Minister brandishes stick to laggard Councils

We’ve been calling on the Planning Minister to bring out the stick to recalcitrant Councils unwilling to pull their weight when it comes to housing supply.

Good news this week with the Planning Minister Paul Scully writing to 6 councils falling behind in the Development Application assessment targets.

The Government has been upfront with Councils, expecting a maximum of 115 days for assessment times. In the current financial year, Georges River is taking on average 223 days to assess DAs, while Sutherland Shire is taking 181 days. Willoughby has an average assessment time of 194 days and North Sydney has an average of 154 days.

The four Sydney councils are North Sydney and Willoughby (no surprises there) as well as Georges River and Sutherland Shire. Queanbeyan-Palerang and Wingecarribee have also been falling short of required DA assessment times.

This is a positive response from the Planning Minister. He and the Premier rattled the council cage last year when they announce league tables and holding to account non-performing Councils. Local Government elections have been and gone, so early 2025 is the time to hold councils which are dragging the housing supply chain to get a move on.

We replicate (and emphasise aspects of) the explanatory note which accompanied the Planning Ministers “Statement of Expectations” published in July 2024

As Urban Taskforce keeps saying, it needs all hands on deck to tackle the housing supply crisis. We simply can’t afford to have well located LGA’s on the go- slow when it comes to development assessments.

US President Theodore Roosevelt once said “speak softly and carry a big stick - you will go far”.#

The Minister’s letter this week is much in line with the old Rooseveltian doctrine. Question is: will he need to use the stick? And will he use it?

The Minister has apparently asked for an “action  plan” from each of the six councils on how they will address their current underwhelming performances.

They have been given 28 days to respond. Watch this space.

# Theodore Roosevelt, was the running mate of William McKinley in the 1900 US Presidential election. He used the famous aphorism in an address entitled “National Duties” at the Minnesota State Fair on September 2, 1901. 4 days later, President McKinley was shot and despite many thinking he would recover, the President died on September 14, 1901.

Theodore Roosevelt was sworn in as the 26^th President of the United States of America on the same day in Buffalo New York. Aged 42 years and 322 days, Roosevelt is the youngest person to become president. (JFK was 43 years and 236 days.)

4. Fifteenth Avenue upgrade won’t be complete until 2040

$1 billion for the goat track that is Fifteenth Avenue – good

Completing it by 2040 – not so good (the Airport opens next year!!)

A vital upgrade required for the new Western Sydney Airport was very well received all round …

… but fast forward 2 months and now we learn through the Aerotropolis Sector Plan that Fifteenth Avenue will not be fully upgraded until 2040.

15 years! The Hoxton Park Primary School P&C working bee could do it faster!

At least with the Aerotropolis Sector Plan we can start to have actual arguments about funding and timeframes.

It is an improvement on the obscurantist approach of the now abolished GCC (we are giving them credit for having an “approach”), not helped by the former State and Federal Governments, whose hands were stuck firmly in their collective pockets when it came to funding these much-needed western Sydney road upgrades.

The NSW Opposition slammed the revelations of the 15-year funding horizon, borrowing from the Talking Heads’ song “Road to Nowhere”. That was the most notable contribution of their release. 

But at least the State and Federal Governments have started the journey.

5. Biodiversity Conservation Act changes a backward step for housing supply and choice

Changes to Biodiversity legislation came into effect on 7 March. The changes impact development which must be accompanied by a biodiversity development assessment report (BDAR).

Previously, when a BDAR was required, the applicant was also as a threshold issue, required to demonstrate that appropriate and sufficient steps have been taken to avoid or minimise the biodiversity impacts (this was often referred to as the “avoid, minimise and offset hierarchy”).

The new hierarchy now places the imperative to avoid impacts above all else.

The changes mean that a developer can no longer adopt a minimisation approach - the proponent is first to take all reasonable measure to avoid the impact of the development on biodiversity values.

This change represents yet another major obstacle and cost which will render the development of many new homes unfeasible. This cuts right across the Premier and Treasurer's messaging on housing supply.  

The new laws also impact the biodiversity offset scheme – moving from the principle of “no net loss of biodiversity” to a transition to net positive diversity. This will require the Minister to put in place a strategy for this transitionary pathway. Change won’t be immediate but again, watch this space.

There is also a shake up for the biodiversity credits scheme- with the new arrangements making it more difficult for a developer to make payments to the Biodiversity Conservation Fund. Again, the regulations may specify that a developer would have to carry out ‘prescribed biodiversity conservation measures’ as an alternative to actually retiring biodiversity credits. No such regulation has been made at the time, but again it is a matter we will be following closely.  

These changes will be a growing issue for greenfield development in those parts of Sydney outside the Growth Centres (which have biodiversity certification in place and avoid the need for BDARs), as well as new housing right across regional NSW.

It represents a big blow for housing choice, cost and supply across the State and should never have gotten past the Minister for Better Regulation (see Story 2).

Development Excellence Awards – Entries now open

6. Assistant NSW Building Commissioner – morning tea

CEO Tom Forrest with Assistant Building Commissioner, Holding Redlich’s Tom Kwok, and KWC’s David Tanevski

Assistant Building Commissioner Matt Press provided members with an update on the latest direction of the Building Commission.

It was pleasing to hear that the Building Commission has shifted to take a more cooperative approach, focussing on areas where greatest risk lies. While it was great to hear that LinkedIn will no longer be the communication method of choice for the Commission, that good news came with an edge: the Building Commission will be strict on the enforcement of Rectification Orders and will not be shy of using the Courts to enforce them.

With a new focus of the Building Commission under James Sherrard, looking for a more collegial approach across the industry, we look forward to continuing our positive but robust working relationship with the Commission.

Thanks to Holding Redlich for hosting an information packed morning tea.

Images from the morning 

7. Housing opportunities on former Westconnex sites

Last month Urban Taskforce (past additions of the ULN are available on our website) drew attention to other Westconnex sites along Parramatta Road besides the former dive site at Camperdown as highly suitable for more housing.  

Urban Taskforce, Urban Living Network 14 February 2025

It was therefore pleasing to see a key YIMBY Inner West Councillor, Philippa Scott, move a motion at this week’s Inner West council meeting putting these sites on the agenda.

Unlike the initially underdone proposal for the former dive site at Camperdown, the motion calls for higher density, mixed use, and mixed market development – good for jobs and housing outcomes.

More well-connected housing on Parramatta Road – of course the Greens Party opposed it! How dare Council entertain mixed use and mixed market approaches – that which has typified the approach to social and affordable housing in recent times. The Greens would much rather Soviet style gulags – or nothing at all!

8. Council watch 

The top (well bottom) ten Sydney Councils for housing approvals are …

The usual suspects in council land have blithely ignored the calls from political leaders to shape up. The ABS 6-monthly housing approvals reveals the LGA’s showing the worst 10 councils in terms of housing approvals.

Sydney YIMBY produced the following map showing the laggard Councils (dark orange) which have delivered less than 25% of the housing targets set them by the State Government.

In this case, Green is good, orange bad, Source: Sydney YIMBY

This week’s ABS approvals data breaks down housing approvals into LGA’s and shows their performance for the financial year to date (July till end January). The table reveals a bit of jostling in the worst ten. Striving for the wooden spoon, this month’s worst performers include Randwick and Waverley (showing that Eastern Suburbs are an ongoing problem when it comes to housing approvals), along with Hornsby Shire and Georges River, kicking Inner West, Bayside, Willoughby and North Beaches just outside the worse ten performing councils.

Worst 10 performing Councils for approvals against targets as at the end of January 2025

Source: Urban Taskforce and ABS

While approvals can be lumpy, and large developments in small councils can mean large swings in meeting targets, there appears to be a definite trend emerging.

As much as some councils may cry wolf over the HDA, at the end of the day, the HDA streamlined process may actually save many of these councils from the ignominy of not pulling the weight when it comes to housing supply.

Affordable housing taxes spread west

The impact of affordable housing contributions has been about thwarting housing supply rather than any sincere effort.

Whilst the preserve of inner suburbs NIMBY councils, 5 western Sydney Councils

• Blacktown City Council,
• Blue Mountains City Council,
• Hawkesbury City Council,
• Camden Council
• Wollondilly Shire Council

Have proposed a scheme to force new home buyers to pay for the provision of  affordable housing. This is nothing more than a tax on housing supply.

Proposed contributions, whilst less than many of the inner Sydney councils, still represent an additional 1.5% impost on the cost of new housing, with 0.3% of the Floor Space of non-residential development. Let’s tax jobs while we’re there!

The costs are outlined in the following table

It is proposed that the new “contribution” would apply from March 2028.

This is in addition to the ever-rising local infrastructure contributions already imposed on new housing by Councils.

Noteworthy is that a number of key Western Sydney Councils- Campbelltown, Liverpool, Fairfield and Penrith have not signed up to this proposal

The scheme is on exhibition, with submissions accepted until 7 April 2025.

9. Follow our new LinkedIn Page

10. Members in the news

*Please note these articles may be paywall protected

“…Stockland is pumping up its data capabilities next to its Macquarie Park high-tech hub at 1-5 Khartoum Road ...read more... 

To read more, click here:                  The Urban Developer, 10 March

"…Urban Property Group is pushing ahead with major projects in NSW, with developments under way in Sydney’s south-west and the Central Coast…read more...

To read more, click here:                       The Urban Developer, 10 March

"… EG Funds’ venture capital arm, dubbed EGX, led a $4.4 million capital raising for Avani, which uses live data from sensors to generate operational insights for commercial property clients.​​​​..read more...

To read more, click here:                AFR, 10 March

""… Helm Properties—has filed plans for a 23-unit apartment complex at 118-124 Bennelong Road and 72 Gerard Streets.​​​​..read more...

To read more, click here:                The Urban Developer, 11 March