The Northern Territory is facing a major housing crisis. A recent report by the Property Council of Australia titled A stark reality: Part one in a thought leadership series on housing choice and affordability for a growing Australia reveals the severity of the situation. It found that 81 per cent of Australians believe there is a lack of affordable housing in their area, with 44 per cent saying a lack of planning is the culprit.
Executive Director of the Property Council Northern Territory, Ruth Palmer, said that the report flags potential solutions to the housing crisis in the Northern Territory.
“The potential solutions include giving the new Housing Supply and Affordability Council the power to publicly scorecard and rank the states and territories on their housing supply efforts, and showing how governments can boost the supply of retirement living, purpose-built student accommodation and build-to-rent housing
“This would allow the Northern Territory Government to take action to address the housing shortage by providing more resources and support to local housing developers and increasing incentives for home ownership.
“The Northern Territory Government must also look into investing in public housing and providing more housing assistance to low-income families.
“This could be done by increasing the availability of public housing, making rent more affordable, and providing assistance programs to help low-income households pay their rent.
“We believe that governments / NTG need to work collaboratively with both the private and Community Housing sector in coming up with solutions and sustainable frameworks in delivering housing outcomes at the required scale.
“Further, we have concerns over the lack of reforms to “brownfield” redevelopments, to facilitate reasonable and responsible residential densification within established suburbs.
“Since 2016, we have supported Dual Occupancy as a means of delivering diversity in housing choice and affordability for changing demographics as well as a more compact urban form to reduce urban sprawl and maximise efficiencies through existing infrastructure.
“There is a genuine need and urgency to reimplement the Dual Occupancy regime within the Northern Territory as issues around housing availability and affordability will increase within the Territory over the short to medium term.
“We believe that The Northern Territory Government must reconsider the NT Planning Commission’s concept of Dual Occupancy for Zone LR (Formerly Zone SD) for blocks larger than 800sqm.”
“Additionally, we believe that the NT Planning Commission should undertake further investigation to identify areas within existing Area Plans, which are presently Zoned LR, and have the necessary public infrastructure and amenities in close proximity so as to reasonably accommodate the development of Dual Occupancy on a single block.
“Overall, the Northern Territory is facing a housing crisis that requires urgent action.
“The government must take steps to increase the availability of affordable housing and provide assistance to low-income families. With the right measures, the Northern Territory can address the housing shortage and ensure everyone can access safe, comfortable and affordable housing.”
Media contact: Ruth Palmer | M 0450 428 314 | E [email protected]