Approximately 4,205 social housing properties have been sold by the NSW Government since the coalition took power in 2011, which equates to approximately $3 billion in the government’s back pocket.

The government has long claimed that the selling of the properties has been done to create increased social housing properties of a higher quality, but recent data reveals the Perrottet Government is well behind on its new dwelling targets.

23,000 new social housing dwellings were slated to be built between 2016 and 2026, but a report from The Guardian indicates only 10 percent of those dwellings have been created some six years after the government made the pledge. 2,393 social housing properties have been erected between 1 July 2016 and the end of 2021. The government also pledged to build more affordable housing units in 2016, with figures provided to The Guardian showing the government has only created 101 new affordable dwellings in five and a half years.

Ivanhoe Estate in Macquarie Park has been pointed to by the government as one major housing project. The development in Sydney’s north-west is anticipated to create 950 social and 128 affordable housing lots. The redevelopment of Waterloo South (pictured above) is expected to bring 847 social housing and 227 affordable housing dwellings.

While the government says there has been a 10 percent increase in social housing since 2011, much of that can be attributed to community housing providers. A statement provided to The Guardian indicates that projects funded by the Communities Plus scheme are complex, and that certain redevelopments similar to Waterloo South take years to complete. The Department of Planning says over 7,000 new social housing dwellings have been delivered as of June 2021.

“LAHC delivered or committed 545 affordable dwellings by last financial year – already above the Future Directions 2026 target of 500,” says a spokesperson from the Department of Planning.

“The Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ), as of 28 February 2022 had also funded 2,921 new social and affordable homes across NSW through the Social and Affordable Housing Fund.

“LAHC’s strategic asset recycling program identifies ageing housing that’s sold to fund the supply of more, new, fit-for-purpose social housing. Every dollar generated from a property sale goes back to LAHC to deliver more, and better, social housing for people in need.”

The government has come under fire in the recent past due to not securing more social housing dwellings on crown land. Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore says the Waterloo estate should feature more social dwellings than the 847 proposed dwellings.

“We’ve got a housing crisis in Sydney, and if we can’t have social housing on publicly owned sites, where are we going to have it?”

Shadow Housing Minister Rose Jackson says the selling of social housing units isn’t about paving the way for new dwellings.

“This isn’t about delivering new housing, this is about selling off valuable government assets to make money for the budget bottom line. The figure topping $3bn for the first time shows there is no slowing down the NSW government public housing privatisation agenda.”

Image: Supplied

Jarrod Reedie

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