LGA welcomes State Government action on regional housing

An issue once seen only in pockets of regional SA is now widespread across the state, applying a handbrake to economic development and restricting the creation of jobs.

The LGA has worked alongside the new State Government – including presenting to State Cabinet in November last year – to plan better ways to partner and lift housing construction in the regions, as well as increase access to rental properties and make financing for regional housing development more accessible.

This was one of the LGA’s key advocacy asks leading into the 2022 State Election.

LGA President Dean Johnson said the new commitment was a welcome step and had the potential to unlock billions of dollars in investment opportunities and support regional liveability.

“There’s a significant pipeline of economic activity for our state, and the only way to see this economic growth take off is by State and Local Government taking action and leading from the front,” Mayor Johnson said.

“Based on research the LGA commissioned last year, we know insufficient access to housing finance, inadequate investor incentives and the absence of economies of scale in many small regional housing markets are among some of the key barriers to regional housing development.

“The success of major investments across all sectors – be it energy, health, skills, agriculture or the environment – are hamstrung by housing shortages for workers.

“Many councils are doing what they can to facilitate housing development through rate rebates, providing council-owned land for development, and in smaller townships even under-writing building contracts directly.

“However, a state-wide and coordinated approach is needed, which is why we greatly welcome the State Government’s announcement.”

Some of the major action taken by SA councils to date includes:

• Renmark Paringa Council introduced rate rebates to encourage subdivided land purchases, to reduce developer risk.
• Southern Mallee District Council introduced rate rebates to encourage employer investment in housing.
• District Council of Karoonda East Murray significantly subsidised the sale of surplus council-owned land and underwritten building contracts for new resident homebuyers.
• Tatiara District Council built accommodation units at Bordertown Caravan Park and partnered with Unity Housing to build affordable rental housing.

Mayor Johnson said the expansion of Renewal SA’s role to assist with regional case management and identify priority projects in partnership with councils was a significant step in the right direction.

“The barriers to regional housing investment are not going to be resolved in the next few months,” Mayor Johnson said.

“For example, many River Murray townships have been devastated by the recent flood and unfortunately rebuilding homes along the river will take years and will exacerbate pre-existing trades and material shortages.

“The State Government’s resourcing of an Office for Regional Housing brings considerable assistance to help bridge the gap between councils’ local knowledge of housing shortages and the commercial knowledge needed to make housing projects viable.

“The LGA has already commenced productive discussions with Renewal SA and we will continue to engage with the Office for Regional Housing so councils have a clear understanding of how to present their knowledge of regional housing shortages and housing project proposals for commercial assessment.”

Contact: LGA Media: 0476 853 689 | media@lga.sa.gov.au