Nationals leader David Littleproud has called for more land releases and building approval times to be slashed in a bid to reduce the housing crisis in Maitland.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
He took aim at Maitland City Council and the state government during a visit to Chisholm on Wednesday, saying both weren't doing enough to get people into homes as quickly as possible.
He said there was a land crisis, a housing crisis and a cost of living crisis that had to be fixed.
McDonald Jones and MOJO CEO Rob Douglas said the land shortage was the "real challenge" and called for levels of government to work together to create more blocks and cut red tape to get people into houses.
Council's general manager Jeff Smith said 550 development applications were received between July and December last year and it took an average of 29 days to process them, which was well below NSW Premier Chris Minns' 40 day target.
He said the council had a framework to meet housing needs over the next 20 years through its local housing strategy and population projections showed Maitland would need an extra 25,200 homes by 2041.
He said the plan would "make a significant contribution towards addressing the housing crisis" and a diverse range of housing types was on the agenda to cater for the growing population and support ageing residents.
Mr Littleproud said councils and the state government had to "ramp up the land acquisition to allow our developers to get these lots out there so that builders like these can come forward and give us the homes that we need."
"It's about making sure that we have the land available," he said.
The Mercury contacted NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson for comment. Her office was still working on a response late on Wednesday afternoon.
Federal Minister for Housing Julie Collins said the government would "turbocharge planning processes" with its $500 million housing support program and a "broad and ambitious housing agenda" so it could "deliver more homes" across the country and support home buyers and renters.
She said the government had "short, medium and long-term plans" and had also committed $25 billion for new housing investments over the next decade.
"I urge all councils and state and territory governments to submit their projects so we can work together to get more homes on the ground," Ms Collins said.
"It's a critical part of our plan to work with states and territories and help them meet the ambitious national target to build 1.2 million well-located new homes."
Belinda-Jane Davis
Passionate about community news
Passionate about community news
