The Bugle’s View – Affordability crisis.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out Kiama is in the middle of a housing affordability crisis. 

But the problem in our part of the world is now so bad, according to new research, that you may need to be a rocket scientist just to afford the rent. 

Business Illawarra’s Solutions to the Affordable Housing Crisis report – covered by The Bugle’s Donna Portland - shows more than 20,000 essential workers across the Illawarra Shoalhaven region are experiencing housing stress.

In other words, the people that make our community tick – like nurses, labourers, and Aged Care workers – are finding it the hardest to keep a roof over their head. 

Consider this hypothetical case study included the Judith Stubbs & Associates research which fed into Business Illawarra’s report: 

“A child care worker wanting to move out of Sydney to take up a job in Kiama, and earning $772 per week could pay $231 in rent, and could not afford to rent a one-bedroom unit in the cheapest part of the region. They would pay more than half their income to rent a one bedroom unit in Kiama ($400), noting that these are in very short supply”. 

It's the Bugle’s View that this is unacceptable, unsustainable, and unfair – and it needs fixing. 

It’s not just important for families that we fix it, it’s important for small businesses too.

Businesses Illawarra’s report also found 93 per cent of businesses across the region are worried about worker shortages, and 43 per cent of them see “an underlying lack of affordable housing” as the cause.

Of course, much of this won’t come as a surprise to The Bugle’s readership – it is more confirmation than revelation. The important question is: what do we do about it? 

Business Illawarra makes a few common-sense suggestions like identifying more vacant government-owned land for development, expedite approvals for affordable housing developments, and consider up-to-date shortfall figures in regional housing targets. 

 They’ve also launched a new campaign to accelerate housing supply, which most people agree is a big part of addressing the crisis. 

Perhaps most valuable though is their call for all stakeholders – all levels of government, industry, and community – to act on solutions within their control. 

As always, The Bugle supports having a broader public conversation about making Kiama the best place to live, work, and raise a family, but the best way to fix this problem is to get shovels in the ground.