Media Release Begins
The Urban Development Institute of Australia, Victoria (UDIA) welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement of local council housing targets to deliver more homes but cautioned that targets are meaningless without action.
UDIA Chief Executive Officer Linda Allison said that all stakeholders must work together to address the shortfall in housing across Victoria.
“The local government housing targets are welcome, but what is really needed is action. Local councils need to be supported to help play their part in addressing the housing crisis. They need to be better resourced and unshackled from local politics to meet these targets,” said Ms Allison.
UDIA is also calling on the Victorian Government to set its own targets and transparently report against them in the Victorian Planning Authority’s (VPA) forthcoming business plan.
“If its good enough for local councils to report against targets, it should be good enough for the state government’s strategic planning authority to have reportable targets. We are calling on the government to report against their 80,000 houses per year target in the VPA Business Plan.
“Some of the largest local government targets for delivering more houses are in the outer areas of Melbourne. To enable this, the VPA will need to approve more lots. UDIA’s modelling suggests that they are well behind in approving new land supply,” she said.
By the Victorian Government’s own policy objectives, to achieve 80,000 homes per year, 24,000 of them will be in greenfield markets. UDIA’s modelling shows that based on current and projected approvals by the VPA, there could be a shortfall of 80,000 homes across the next decade – a year’s worth of housing targets.
Ms Allison also noted that without tax reform, the local government targets are in jeopardy.
“It has been almost a year since the Housing Statement was released, and to date not a single measure in tax reform or incentivising investors or consumers has been announced,” she said.
The Urban Development Institute of Australia, Victoria (UDIA) welcomed the Victorian Government’s announcement of local council housing targets to deliver more homes but cautioned that targets are meaningless without action.
UDIA Chief Executive Officer Linda Allison said that all stakeholders must work together to address the shortfall in housing across Victoria.
“The local government housing targets are welcome, but what is really needed is action. Local councils need to be supported to help play their part in addressing the housing crisis. They need to be better resourced and unshackled from local politics to meet these targets,” said Ms Allison.
UDIA is also calling on the Victorian Government to set its own targets and transparently report against them in the Victorian Planning Authority’s (VPA) forthcoming business plan.
“If its good enough for local councils to report against targets, it should be good enough for the state government’s strategic planning authority to have reportable targets. We are calling on the government to report against their 80,000 houses per year target in the VPA Business Plan.
“Some of the largest local government targets for delivering more houses are in the outer areas of Melbourne. To enable this, the VPA will need to approve more lots. UDIA’s modelling suggests that they are well behind in approving new land supply,” she said.
By the Victorian Government’s own policy objectives, to achieve 80,000 homes per year, 24,000 of them will be in greenfield markets. UDIA’s modelling shows that based on current and projected approvals by the VPA, there could be a shortfall of 80,000 homes across the next decade – a year’s worth of housing targets.
Ms Allison also noted that without tax reform, the local government targets are in jeopardy.
“It has been almost a year since the Housing Statement was released, and to date not a single measure in tax reform or incentivising investors or consumers has been announced,” she said.
-ENDS-
MEDIA CONTACTS AND REQUESTS FOR INTERVIEW:
Linda Allison | CEO
linda@udiavic.com.au
