We were pleased last month to meet with Council staff from Eurobodalla Shire to discuss housing outcomes and targets that should be included in their Local Housing Strategy. We managed to secure this meeting at a crucial time during the Strategy investigation phase and we were able to reiterate the relatively high housing need of the Shire compared to other regional LGAs in our updated Regional Report with the Regional Australia Institute. For instance, there are 500+ approved social housing applicants on the waitlist in the LGA who all can expect to wait more than 5 years for a home.
As ever, we encourage local Councils to increase dialogue and demands of State-government in getting a fair share of social housing stock, particularly in light of worsening flood and bushfire events linked to runaway climate change. It seems Landcom will be tasked to do more in the South Coast region under the new State Government, but we would also like to see the State Government work with (and not against) local Councils that are trying to better regulate short term holiday letting and return homes to the longer-term rental market for locals.
We encourage any of our supporters in or around the Eurobodalla Shire to reach out to Council and proactively seek updates on where the Local Housing Strategy process is up to. If you would like to know more on how our meeting went with Council staff, please contact Policy Officer, Kayla Clanchy (kayla@shelternsw.org.au).