The Save Greater Sydney Coalition (SGSC)  parliamentary forum, Getting Housing Right: Unpacking NSW’s housing crisis without the spin, on Wednesday 7 August was a huge success. Here are a few great takeaways delivered by an excellent range of speakers:

• MC Joe O’Donoghue reminded the audience that back in 2018 our current Premier Chris Minns had a very different attitude about how planning should be done in NSW, telling Parliament that “last week we saw a perverse situation where Chris Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the Urban Taskforce, wrote an op‐ed saying that we should have no more nimbys and instead have more yimbys, or “yes in my backyard”. He was saying to Sydney that not only do we have to take these monstrosities but that we should be happy about it. In other words, “Shut up and take your medicine.”
• Dr Peter Sheridan AM of the Potts Point Preservation Society lamented the loss of affordable housing in Potts Point, presenting the following startling statistic: in 6 new developments, a total 209 existing apartments will be reduced to 85, a net loss of 124 apartments with no replacements for the 163 affordable one bedrooms and studios.
• Journalist Michael Pascoe told the audience that in 2023 – 2024 only 1.6% (660) of dwelling units approved in NSW were public housing stock. He mentioned how a recent Australian government budget paper identified that since 1996 the public housing replacement rate has not been enough to keep pace with sales and demolitions of existing social housing stock.
• Heritage expert Sharon Veale said that the Government’s proposed changes to planning controls will put two-thirds of the NSW’s heritage at risk.
• Saul Deane of the Total Environment Centre and Save Sydney Koalas talked about how increasing density requires generous green spaces to keep cities liveable and to ensure that precious biodiversity isn’t completely lost.
• Elizabeth Farrelly quoted Professor of Urban Planning History, Karl Fischer, who said “The planners haven’t left the room; they’re in the room with the developers.” She said she feared for our children’s future, mentioning how an 8-year-old student asked her in a radio interview whether children in the future “will we all be stuck in tiny apartments with no outdoor space.”
• Please join the SGSC Facebook Public or Private groups.