Before the State Election, Shelter NSW supported the Hunter Community Alliance to level asks and seek commitments from candidates in the Lower Hunter and Central Coast electorates. Various candidates attended sessions across two nights to hear about lived experiences of homelessness, housing precarity, and worsening climate change.

The three housing asks that underpinned the two sessions were:

1. Restore the social housing safety net of all local government areas within the Hunter to 5% of total housing stock by 2027, and increase social housing stock at least every three years once social housing reaches the 5% target
2. Replace ‘no grounds evictions’ provisions with ‘reasonable grounds evictions’
3. Commit to at least 50% social and affordable housing at any future residential development at the proposed Hunter Park

You can find out more about candidates’ responses here. Notably, most candidates agreed on the need to derive greater public (housing) benefit from the redevelopment of Hunter Park in Broadmeadows.

Hunter Park appears to be undergoing a State Government-led rezoning process for majority government-owned land on a State-significant employment, entertainment, and residential site. A Place Strategy is being developed by Newcastle City Council for the Hunter Park site and this presents an important opportunity to embed outcomes of 50% social and affordable housing in the residential component of the site.

With all of this in mind, we will soon be writing to Newcastle City Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes and senior Council staff seeking a meeting to reiterate the importance of Ask 3 in light of significant population projections envisioned in the Six Cities Metropolis Discussion Paper by the Greater Cities Commission and existing, major housing need in our Regional Report. A reminder that our submission on the GCC Six Cities Vision can be accessed here.