Through the Regional Housing Need Report, Shelter NSW has identified the Lake Macquarie LGA as an area of high housing need, with more than 2,000 applicants on the social housing waitlist as of June 2022 and approximately 70% of low-income renters in housing stress.

Lake Macquarie City Council

With this in mind, we recently teamed up with the Hunter Community Alliance to put in a submission on one (of many) Planning Proposals underway in the Lake Macquarie LGA.

In Council’s own planning policies, there is a strategic commitment to “establishing mechanisms for affordable housing contributions” in the LGA. Meanwhile, rezoning applications abound, generating planning uplift for sites, which – if not captured now – will accrue privately to landholders.

We agree with the Hunter Community Alliance that value-capture for the purposes of social and affordable housing should certainly occur for land that is presently government-owned such as 144-146 Munibung Road, Boolaroo.