Rezone more land to get more housing, NSW government says – but that could be a recipe for disaster

Sun, 12 Mar 2023 03:28:37 +1100

Andrew Pam <xanni [at] glasswings.com.au>

Andrew Pam
<https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/27/rezone-more-land-to-get-more-housing-nsw-government-says-but-that-can-be-a-recipe-for-disaster>

"It’s a simple and seductive solution: rezone more land on the fringes of
Sydney for housing and real estate prices will fall, thanks to greater supply.

But the reality is more complex.

Sydney is now facing a massive new infrastructure challenge – worse than
occurred during some of its growth spurts of the past.

By trying to speed up the release of land, the New South Wales government has
set up a kind of Hunger Games among developers, who are each urging spending
by government in their patch.

Reports by Infrastructure Australia and multiple academics have repeatedly
noted that infrastructure costs for development on the fringes of Sydney are
much greater than expanding infrastructure in the inner and middle ring.

But governments have limited budgets.

The government had put significant resources into planning the Aerotropolis,
now called Bradfield, near the new Badgerys Creek airport. Now the planning
minister, Anthony Roberts, and premier, Dominic Perrottet, want to fast-track
areas in the Macarthur region at the same time, opening up another urban
frontier that is currently devoid of public transport and more than single-lane
roads.

So who gets priority for scarce infrastructure dollars?"

Cheers,
       *** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net               Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/                 Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/            Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/               Manager, Serious Cybernetics

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