In early December, Shelter NSW put in a submission on the Wollongong draft Local Housing Strategy.
The timing for this draft strategy dovetailed with the recently exhibited Greater Cities Commission (‘GCC’) Six Cities Discussion Paper, with Wollongong being one of the cities to make up the future Six Cities Metropolis. Having already been identified as having high-housing need in our Regional Housing Report, we suggest strategies for Wollongong need to be ambitious and specific.
All-in-all, we made just shy of 30 recommendations to Wollongong City Council for ways to further housing justice in the LGA. Most pressing among these recommendations was the need for Council to advance the creation of an Affordable Housing Contributions Scheme, with contribution rates set within the 10-15% range, as earmarked in the GCC Six Cities Paper.
We thank key contributors to our submission consultation – Michele Adair, CEO of Housing Trust and Robyn Evans, General Manager at BaptistCare Community Services – for helping us put together a well-rounded response to the draft strategy.