On October 28, Andrew Constance, the Liberal candidate for Gilmore, hosted a regional housing roundtable at The Sebel, bringing together key stakeholders to address housing supply challenges in the Gilmore region. 

Among the attendees were Shadow Assistant Housing Minister Senator Andrew Bragg and Simon Croft, Executive Director for Building Policy and Services at the Housing Industry Association.

Decline in Housing

A significant focus of the discussion was the sharp decline in housing construction under the current Labor government. 

“Just six years ago, the country was building 220,000 houses. This year we'll only get 160,000 houses. Labor has presided over a massive collapse in housing construction despite a significant increase in migration, the largest since 1950,” says Bragg.

Constance emphasised the need to unlock funding for essential local infrastructure, saying, “It wouldn’t matter if it was a local road, sewage, water connection or drainage. We've got to make sure that we have that infrastructure right to facilitate homes coming onto the market quickly.” 

He mentioned the proposed policy, previously announced by Peter Dutton, to allocate $5 billion towards “last mile infrastructure,” which could be creatively utilised by councils and private developers to get housing projects moving.

Medium-density housing

The roundtable also explored solutions for Kiama’s local housing crisis, particularly the development of medium-density housing to better serve seniors looking to downsize. 

“The opportunity for, particularly, our seniors community, who do want to downsize was brought up, emphasising the need for housing options that suit the lifestyles of older residents.”

Bombo Quarry

He also suggested that Bombo Quarry could serve as a valuable location for new housing, saying, “Bombo quarry is a classic example where over a five to seven year period, you could bring on a fantastic option for people who do want to downsize.” 

“It’s a unique place in Australia close to the beach, transport, and roads, also you’re remediating a quarry site which does have to happen.”

Labour shortages

Croft addressed the workforce challenges involved in meeting housing targets, stressing, “To build the sort of housing targets that we need, we need 83,000 more workers. That's 22,000 more carpenters, 17,000 more electricians, and 12,000 more plumbers.”

He added that the need for skilled labour is even more pronounced in regional communities, underscoring the urgency of addressing these shortages to construct the homes desperately needed across the country.

Short term rentals

While the issue of short-term rentals wasn’t a primary focus, Constance believes a proposed solution for first home buyers—allowing them to use their superannuation—coupled with ideas for downsizing housing for seniors, would both assist this issue in Kiama. 

He stated that the style and nature of development, along with proactive measures from the building sector, can mitigate the impact of short-term rentals.

“Sensible approaches from a Commonwealth level to reduce the cost of building and lending practices will, I believe, lessen the impact these short-term rentals are having on housing in Kiama,” says Constance.