Senator Ross Cadell talks about the Hunter's housing crisis.
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00:00Senator Caddell. Thank you, Acting Deputy President. A lot of debate today about housing,
00:06all around the housing issue, and we're talking about the funding of the purchase side, the demand
00:10side. But what we're really talking about when we get to this is the relative advantage of different
00:15purchases, because we're only talking about one side of the housing equation, not supply.
00:19And Acting Deputy President will know that when I first came down here and was looking for somewhere
00:23to stay, we got into a bidding war with each other on a property we didn't know we were bidding
00:27against one another on. And that's what it gets down to on the purchase side. But let's talk
00:32about the supply side. Because in this chamber, in state chambers, in local government chambers
00:37around Australia, property developer is an evil word. People don't accept donations from them,
00:44they don't have meetings with them. But if we are to get the supply side right,
00:49this country is dependent upon those that develop land, those that build buildings
00:56for this housing. And until we get supply side right, we will never get this housing problem
01:01right in Australia. We simply need to build more dwellings, we need to develop more land
01:07to put more people. That is the bottom line. And no government will be putting their money in this.
01:13It'll be private investors, it'll be mums and dads, it'll be small business, it'll be big investors,
01:18big property developers across Australia that do this. And by not having them in the conversation,
01:24we do a disservice. I do note in New South Wales, the Premier, Labor Premier, I'll give
01:30him his credit, Chris Minns, is actually taking on some of these NIMBYs in some of the planning
01:36zones in inner city on public ways where there's transport lines and stuff like that. That is a
01:42good thing. But we need it to be bigger and better. The independent planning assessments
01:48and councils everywhere are fearful of what they do if they approve dwellings,
01:53if they approve land developments, if they approve subdivisions. And they shouldn't be,
01:57because what they are doing is depriving young families of houses. They are depriving mums and
02:02dads of getting a better house. They are depriving people of what we're trying to do here today,
02:06affordable housing, and they are driving up the prices by not approving these things.
02:11We can all take a laugh at Senator Faruqi here. When everyone brings up development,
02:15we talk about a Port Macquarie thing. She created more dwellings for people.
02:19That is a good thing. I will meet with developers. I will talk to developers,
02:22because they are the answer to this. I asked my office to go through and look in the Hunter
02:27what might be around that we haven't seen there. They came up with one called Kingshill Development
02:31at the urban release area, 3,500 lots, just 50 kilometres from me,
02:37in the Port Stephens area, Port Stephens Council. That would allow 10,000 residents to move in.
02:45It has been held up for 12 years. Let me talk about the funding aspects of this.
02:53It has received $1.5 million from the HAF that we approved going there, but it is then
03:01$661,000 from a Commonwealth grant from a local housing plan to redo it that has stopped it.
03:08They have put $1.5 million into allowing something to happen to develop it,
03:12and $660,000 to a local housing plan that has taken it from 3,500 lots down to 700
03:17lots and made it unviable. This is what we get. A developer that comes to a place,
03:22correctly zoned land, goes through a process, 3,500 lots, goes through the approval process,
03:29does it right and puts their money—$50 million so far—into this project to put these hands there,
03:34and it doesn't go ahead. What is the cost? It means that we still have to house people.
03:42We just have to put them somewhere else because these people say,
03:44not in my backyard. Does Madawi get it? Does Wallalong get it?
03:50There is a claim that we are going to infill some ex-Housing Commission places in Raymond Terrace.
03:54I know Raymond Terrace. The Housing Commission places did them cheaply.
03:58There is no drainage. There are no sump pits. A developer is going to buy two or three lots,
04:03go to do a DA and see a bill for $150,000, $200,000 or $300,000 for drainage and say,
04:09no, I can't do it. We need to get more people involved in allowing these projects to happen,
04:16because if things like Kingshill don't go ahead, that has the local
04:20Worimi people's approval, that has all the planning zones in the right zone,
04:24$3,500. What happens to the missile development zone in the Aerospace Space Centre in Williamtown
04:30that was announced the other day if we can't put people there? If you can't put people near
04:35their jobs, if you can't put people near growth, if you can't give people hope, anything we pass
04:40in this House about who funds it is just giving comparative advantage in a worse market.
04:46We are creating more money and more cost for people by not opening up supply.
04:51We have to stop demonising the people that can help housing supply in Australia.
04:55We have to get them in the tent. We have to get people like Kingshill Development
04:59out there building land so we can all have somewhere to live.
05:05you