This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
PAUL Scully has been unveiled as the NSW Planning and Public Spaces Minister, and Rose Jackson as Minister for Housing and Homelessness in new Labor Premier Chris Minns’ Cabinet.
Labor won enough seats at last month’s state election to form a minority government, ending 12 years of coalition rule.
Scully, the Member for Wollongong since 2016, was Shadow Minister for Planning and Public Spaces in opposition. He is married to federal MP for Cunningham Alison Byrnes.
He takes over the portfolio from the coalition’s Anthony Roberts.
During the campaign, Labor said it would squash the current plans for housing development around the $65 billion Metro project and reallocate housing to higher-density developments closer to the CBD.
“I’m worried we’re again failing to align population growth and public transport investment,” he told the Committee for Sydney’s Sydney Summit in February.
“When we get the opportunity to deliver more affordable and key worker housing near metro stations, we should be taking it.
“We can’t pretend we don’t need more nurses, paramedics, police officers, teachers, cleaners or hospitality workers closer to Sydney CBD. We do, and the metro provides an opportunity to do that.”
The NSW Planning department is forecasting that between 143,400 and 161,300 new homes could be built over the five years to 2025-2026 across three scenarios, with the medium growth scenario forecasting 151,500 new homes in that period. It also says that 904,000 homes will be needed over the 20 year to 2041 to accommodate population growth forecasts.
Meanwhile, the state’s social housing waitlist lifted 15% over the 12 months to June to more than 51,000.
Jackson is a NSW Legislative Council member and was Shadow Minister for Water, Housing and Homelessness since the middle of 2021.
NSW’s rate of homelessness came back to 43 per every 10,000 people on Census night in 2021 compared to the 50 in 2016, but the rate is still higher than 2006 (34) and 2011 (40).
New Deputy Premier Ann Car is taking on the Western Sydney portfolio, at a time in which a new international airport will be delivered in Badgerys Creek, attracting intensive development, and Daniel Mookhey is the new Treasurer.