A growing state does need a steady supply of housing to meet the needs of its population. And it is true that NSW has slipped behind. But for those of us advocating for a secure home for all, it is the supply of social and affordable housing that most needs to dramatically increase.
At a time when a key body like the Australian Government’s National Housing Supply and Affordability Council has recently noted that Australia will not likely meet the national 1.2 million homes target (dashing the hopes of many that general ‘supply’ will address housing unaffordability) we look to non-market, counter-cyclical approaches to address it.

As our Senior Policy Officer Cathy Callaghan noted in the 145^th edition of the The Housing Crisis Edition | Inner Sydney Voice Magazine the much-more reliable supply of social housing is a better bet.

Increasing social and affordable housing is a great investment in the future of NSW – a sure bet. Government has the power, money, land and moral imperative to make it happen.

Shelter NSW has called on the NSW Government to restore the social housing safety net to 5% of total housing stock by 2027 and 10% by 2040. Our pre-budget submission calls for a $2.5 billion investment to add at least 5,000 social dwellings a year. This would enable a large public housing build, buy, restore and retrofit program; capital grants, discounted land and other subsidies to expand community housing and an expanded $500 million repairs, maintenance and disability access retrofit.

Source: Inner Sydney Voice