Ross Smith writes: “The low rate of levy proposed (1.25 %) significantly
undercuts the rate levied in other areas of Sydney. This ‘gift’ to the development
industry will, at best, provide 75 units of affordable housing of 100 square
metres each for the operational area of the Redfern-Waterloo Authority (RWA)
over the next ten to fifteen years. There is no obligation to pass the benefit
onto the end users of the properties concerned
The location of these residences is subject to further
investigations to be undertaken as part of the preparation of the
to-be-announced Redfern-Waterloo Authority Affordable Housing Program.
The number of affordable housing units proposed (75) is very
low when compared with the RWA’s proposal to introduce 3,200 new residents to
the area. It goes nowhere near reducing, much less offsetting, the effect of gentrification
which has been rampant in the last decade. Despite the fact that 1996 to 2001
was a period of significant growth in housing stock, there was a real decline
in the proportion of dwellings that could be affordably purchased or rented by
very low, low and moderate income households in the RWA’s operational area.
The reference to the supply of assistance to either would-be
purchasers or renters by percentage is a misleading use of statistics, in that
the figures quoted refer to the survivors of the policies overseen by the RWA
and its immediate predecessor, the Redfern-Waterloo Premier’s Project.
Furthermore, the percentages quoted are based on all the projected affordable
housing supply being allocated entirely to one group or the other. The RWA
Contribution Plan of November 2006 provides for a rate of levy that, when added
to the low Affordable Housing Levy, brings the overall levy into line with
charges in the surrounding areas.
The reasonable inference is that the RWA will promote the
amount collected for community facilities and infrastructure as a success story
for the RWA. This outcome will be compared to the outcomes achieved by consent
authorities in the surrounding areas, whilst failing to mention the significant
subsidy created by the lower Affordable Housing Levy in the RWA operational
area.
The areas of North Eveleigh, the Australian Technology
Park, and Redfern Railway
Station are earmarked to receive the vast majority of the elevated Contribution
Plan Levy monies. These are all areas under the stewardship and direct control
of the RWA with the exception of Redfern Railway Station. The current community
is being asked to finance the future community.
The use of a subsidy created by a low Affordable Housing
Levy to meet State Rail’s refurbishment costs for Redfern Railway Station does
not comply with the stated aim of the Affordable Housing Contribution Plan to
supply affordable housing to offset the effects of gentrification on the RWA
operational area.
To respond to a proposal requires that the proposal has been
developed, has a solid base of data and contains specific detail. This Plan
lacks both data and detail. There is no reference to a role for Inclusionary
Zoning. Instead it contains reference to unknowns, including the
Redfern-Waterloo Authority Affordable Housing Program.
It is to be hoped that the RWA will attend the forthcoming
four-day Seminar on Affordable Housing Concepts, Strategies and Models being
conducted by the Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute, a body cited
by the RWA as an authoritative body in the field of Affordable Housing and
incorporate the absolutely current information into the final Plan.
Hopefully the Plan, when it finally goes on exhibition, will
be open for comment and input for a longer and more suitable period than the
Draft Plan was. This would reaffirm the RWA’s stated intent to seek public
input in an open transparent manner into matters that impact on the community
of the area and to give the input due consideration.
Source: South Sydney Herald March 2007