Sydney Water is in the firing line.Credit:Sam Mooy
To address the problems,limits were quietly imposed on Sydney Water’s charges to developers for stormwater connections,and now theHerald’s Sydney editor Michael Koziolreports that the state government has begun a shake-up of Sydney Water’s board and ordered it to “get with the program” on solving the housing crisis.
This is the second hit water authorities have endured in less than a week. WaterNSW shut down a Blue Mountains feeder dam last Wednesday when it wasfound to contain cancer-linked forever chemicals,after months of playing down their presence in Sydney’s water supply.
Now Water Minister Rose Jackson has publicly branded Sydney Water “a big problem” when it comes to releasing land for greenfield development,accusing it and the previous government of hugely underinvesting in capital works.
“Obviously,landowners are very frustrated and so is the government,” Jackson said. “They dragged the chain and they need to understand they are part of the government team that is delivering on our agenda for housing. They are understanding that better now.”
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But the buck does not stop with Sydney Water alone.
Premier Minns staked his political future on delivering desperately needed homes. The NSW government needs to build 377,000 new homes across the state – 70 per cent of them in Sydney – by 2029 to meet its obligations under thenational housing accord. To this end,in the biggest rezoning shake-up in Australian history,zoning regulations would be dramatically changed to increased density,especially around transport hubs,to create capacity. Despite the continuing political debate about housing,the crisis cannot be cured by announcements and reforming planning policies.