Cessnock City Council ready for growth

BY JARROD MELMETH

Cessnock City Council says they are ready and poised for growth in the region after it was reported on Monday that the housing affordability crisis in Sydney is forcing essential service workers to the Hunter.

The reports come from a Univerisity of Sydney study of key workers and housing affordability in Sydney which found that the closest local government area with an affordable median rental price for an entry level enrolled nurse is Cessnock.

Cessnock Mayor Bob Pynsent welcomed the news labelling the region as the perfect location for those considering making a change as the cost of living pressures in Sydney continue to mount and lock people out of the property market.

"The Cessnock area offers something unique and incomparable to our metropolitan counterparts. We are strategically located to Sydney and Newcastle, we offer affordable land and housing for growing business and residential demand.

"Importantly we have the prosperity to absorb population and economic growth. It is not just the lifestyle benefits we offer but the opportunity we have for business," Mayor Pynsent said.

Parliamentary Secretary for the Hunter Scot MacDonald said the reports spell opportunity for Cessnock.

"The region has an affordable lifestyle with an abundance of attractions - space, great education at a primary, secondary, vocational education and tertiary levels; good sports and culture infrastructure; enviable community; access to one of Australia's premier wine regions; an hour away from beached and NSW's second largest city that is enjoying a renewal and renaissance," Mr MacDonald said.

Cessnock Mayor Bob Pynsent. 

The Empty City

BY TYLER FARDELL

Census data has revealed almost 20 percent of homes in Newcastle's East are vacant, equating to around 1000 empty homes.

The shocking number is almost double the state average at 10 percent, and the census data showed there was almost 100,000 vacant properties across NSW and Victoria.

The vacant hot-spot was in the Newcastle postcode of 2300, which includes suburbs like Cooks hill and Bar Beach.

Following these figures, there are calls for the NSW state government to follow both the Federal and Victorian governments and introduce a tax for vacant properties.

However, that idea has been criticised by members of the housing industry, saying it has the potential to dry up the supply and increase house prices and rental costs in Newcastle.

Craig Jennion

Executive Director of the Housing Industry Association in the Hunter, Craig Jennion says not only is he against a tax against vacant properties, but the figures gathered in the census can not be taken as completely accurate.

"The way they gather information about whether a home is vacant or not cannot be counted as reliable", he said. "On the day they collect information, if you're not home for any reason including holiday or just out for lunch, the property is counted as vacant".

"Any additional taxes would slow down on supply which is something we don't need in the Hunter", he said.

"Our housing affordability in the Hunter has been a strong point and I would hate to see that change".

Labor meets for roundtable on housing affordability in Newcastle

BY SARAH BARONOWSKI

A roundtable on housing affordability is convening today in Newcastle, with Labor representatives from all levels of government in attendance.

Among those present were Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness Senator the Honorary Doug Cameron, Federal Member for Newcastle Sharon Claydon, State Member for Charlestown Jodie Harrison and Newcastle Lord Mayor Nuatali Nelmes.

Federal Member for Newcastle, Sharon Claydon. [Image: ABC]

According to Sharon Claydon, today's meeting is a chance for all stakeholders to get involved in the housing issues plaguing Newcastle to work towards long-term solutions for the future.

"All of these people have got tremendous experience and ideas around addressing the housing affordability crisis in Newcastle and the roundtable today provides a platform for those ideas to be discussed," she said.

She says a unified front between each tier of government is needed to properly address the region's situation and so far, not much has been done.

"There's just been a gross lack of national leadership on this front," she said. "There are some things that the Federal government can do to provide assistance in terms of both housing supply and affordability but there are equally important things that state and local governments
can do and the idea of today's roundtable is to bring those three levels of government together so that we can look at some genuine solutions to what is a looming crisis for our community."

With prices going up and annual wages going down, Sharon Claydon says the housing situation in Newcastle is dire.

"We have house prices sky rocketing at 8 percent per annum at the same time when we have wages stagnating. Waiting times for social housing in Newcastle have blown out up to ten years for a two bedroom unit. The roundtable today provides a platform to really thrash out the best solution for affordable and appropriate housing."

Renewed calls for government investment in Maitland

BY JARROD MELMETH and JESSICA ROUSE

Following the approval of 247 housing lots at Thornton and Louth Park there have been renewed calls for the State Government to invest in the area.

The developments and their applications across the two suburbs were approved at Tuesday's Maitland Council Meeting just weeks after 511 lots were approved for Defence Housing, also in Thornton.

Maitland MP Jenny Aitchison believes the approval of more housing developments goes to the very heart of why the State Government must invest in more infrastructure in the area, particularly in schools.

"We need to ensure that the government comes good on infrastructure. The government needs to invest in Maitland in schools and education in order to make sure these people who come to Maitland have adequate facilities," said MP Jenny Aitchison.

Census data shows there was a two percent population increase in Maitland between 2011 and 2016 with the numbers only going up. Maitland was also identified as a high growth area being the fastest growing outside of the Sydney metropolitan area.

MP Jenny Aitchison says the lack of housing affordability in Sydney, Newcastle and in other major centres, is pushing people to come to Maitland instead where there's relatively low cost housing compared to a lot of these areas.

"The development approved goes to the very heart of why we need this new hospital, why we need the government to be investing in schools. We will be working to get new schools into Maitland to get expansion of our existing schools to cope with that demand."