The campaign is coordinated by the Sydney Alliance of over 40 cultural/language, educational, faith and union organisations.
Among these, the Uniting Church through its Social Justice Forum is playing a leading role in advocating with state and local governments – and organising community forums where federal, state and local leaders face tough questions from experts and constituents experiencing the struggle to find and keep affordable homes among Sydney’s spiralling rents.
Assemblies and forums have been held in the CBD, Eastwood and Penrith, and are now planned for suburbs including Ryde, Drummoyne, Parramatta, Burwood and Coogee. The St Vincent de Paul Society NSW is co-presenting many of these, as part of Vinnies’ “Right to Home” campaign which has included a petition to state parliament and other actions.
After more than three years of the partnership campaign, the NSW government this year finally included affordability targets in its “Three Cities” plan. But the targets are seen as unambitious and vague, not expected to generate anything like the 8,000-12,000 new affordable homes a year considered essential to even keep pace with the crisis, let alone improve affordability across Sydney. A recent announcement by the government of 11,000 new units to be built around the Northwest Metro over the next 10 years includes only 5 per cent affordable commitment – or just 55 units a year.
And the government still hasn’t agreed to end the unfair “no grounds” evictions which allow landlords to arbitrarily evict tenants daring to ask for reasonable repairs and maintenance.
So Sydney Alliance partners are stepping up their campaign with local councils and state MPs, urging them to strengthen and extend affordability targets and improve renter security.
The organisations are also working alongside the national “Everybody’s Home” campaign to encourage the federal government to take meaningful steps towards giving renters a fairer deal.
The campaign has won NSW Labor and Greens support. Several local councils have also been moved to adopt or strengthen policies, and more have invited the Alliance to present its case to meetings.
Among encouraging local developments, Sydney City Council is proposing to extend its affordable housing levy from the current limited area (Green Square, Pyrmont and between Sydney Airport and the CBD) to apply across the entire municipality. This could boost affordable housing numbers by 3,600 by 2030.
The campaign has been an empowering experience for Sydney’s diverse communities, who are mobilising in numbers to ensure everyone has a right to a secure and affordable home.
Politicians of all persuasions and levels are being reminded that not only renters are concerned about unaffordability: it’s hurting families, workplaces, welfare budgets, public transport, infrastructure, and whole communities – including marginal electorates where housing is voters’ number one priority.
The pollies are being warned: ignore this at your peril.
