Host 1: Well, according to the Tiser today the state’s Property Council is calling out inconsistencies between the Government’s messaging – ‘we need more housing, we’re in a housing crisis’ – and the opposition of some MPs, both Labor and Liberal, to development applications in their local areas ... ‘we need more housing, we need more apartment blocks’ and then of course local MPs because of the concerns of residents often block these apartment blocks. So, are local MPs doing their job, or not? Bruce Djite joins us now to give us his opinion ... can you give us some specific examples of when you think NIMBYism has kind of blocked you know housing development?
Djite: Oh, there’s countless examples. You look at 88 O’Connell Street that is now being developed in North Adelaide, that’s probably the best example of NIMBYism and really tarnishes South Australia’s reputation, but really what we want is for all parliamentarians to lead their community and bring them along the journey. It’s easy to scaremonger about something, but you need to show that leadership, you need to educate the public about the importance of, or at least educate them about the trade locks around density, greenfield, the cost of those different types of developments. We’re saying we need all types of housing, be it apartments, house and land, student accommodation or retirement villages ... to tell people four, five storeys shouldn’t happen because there might be one less car park on the street as opposed to explaining to them the importance and the diversity and economic improvements and having housing next to infrastructure, amenity.
Host 2: Is it your argument, Bruce, that there should be no suburb that has height restrictions placed in it for any reason?
Djite: No, that’s not what we’re saying at all. What we’re saying is we’re in the middle of a housing crisis. People are happy to talk about cost of living, a lot of which the State Government can do absolutely zero about. What they can do something about and what causes the most pain in this cost of living crisis is skyrocketing rents and rapidly rising mortgages.
Host 1: Bruce, do you think that residents have the right to go, ‘we don’t like the design of this apartment building, we want to reduce it in size, we want more car parking’? I mean ... even if you say we need to build more apartment blocks local residents should have a say, shouldn’t they, in how it looks and specific aspects of the design?
Djite: That’s fraught, it’s subjective and it’s led us to where we are today, and those same people are the ones who are going to complain about their cost of living and the same people who are going to complain that their grandkids or their own kids have to move 40kms from where they are because they can’t afford anything in and around where they live.
Host 1: Well, one development that was brought up in this article was the one in Forestville ... MP, Jayne Stinson, has penned a letter to the Planning Commission opposing a code change that would allow a five-storey residential building around Leader Street in Forestville, so this is an example of an MP opposing a development.
Host 1: Jayne Stinson, MP for Badoce joins us … we are in a housing crisis Jayne … is this a way to alleviate it?
Jayne Stinson, Member for Badcoe: Good morning … I make absolutely no apologies for sticking up for what’s right for my community, obviously I, Lucy Hood and all of us across the political spectrum are not paid by developers, we are voted in by our electorates and it’s our job to work for our electorates and consult with local people about what they want. So in relation to this particular development, I’ve actually have done quite a lot of work with my community to get their views and quite contrary to what Bruce is saying, this isn't something that I or my community are blocking it’s something that we’ve really involved ourselves in to see how we can have our say and how we can make it better. So no one is opposing this development. In fact our community is facing thousands of additional homes being built in our area - the old Le Cornu site and Keswick Barracks, our community is welcoming of that. We know that we need more housing, we know that we need sensible development and what we are saying is that we want a say in that process, we want to make sure that what’s built is responsible development that’s going to stand the test of time and is going to serve our community and those that need housing.
Host 2: So you don't believe that opposition amounts to countering the argument for more housing in this cost of living crisis?
Jayne Stinson MP: Certainly my community isn't saying ‘not in my backyard’, our community is saying yes this is happening in our backyard, what we want to see is sensible and sensitive development. So like I said, my community is broadly supportive of thousands, thousands of additional dwellings at the Keswick Barracks site, at the old Le Cornu site – this site we are talking about is much smaller and across the road within a character area and I think people in my area have the right to be able to say hey, we are copping a lot of brunt of this development, happily so, but we want to make sure that that development is sensible and reflects that this is in a one-storey predominant area and we think that there has got to be a limit and we want our views taken into account.
Host 1: Bruce’s point is that you need to take your constituents on a journey so he is saying that … yes they are agreeing to some sort of development but it’s usually a few storeys less than what a developer wants so do you need to meet developers in the middle and say look we understand you don't want a four storey but we do need it four storeys because we have a housing crisis and people want to move into this area because it’s so fantastic.
Jayne Stinson MP: Well in effect that’s what happens through the planning system so a developer or others put forward what they want, our community thankfully gets a say and gets to put forward what we would like, and then independent decision-makers decide where it lands and that’s the way it should be. I don't think anyone should be advocating for our communities to not get a say on what happens in our area, and I think my community doesn't need me or anyone talking down to them and telling them that they don't understand. My community well understands the need for housing. I have many people in my area who are looking for and need affordable housing, but we have got to balance that with other pressures in our community as well.
Host 2: That’s Jayne Stinson, MP for Badcoe. Let’s just quickly go back to Bruce Djite ... isn’t that fair enough that residents just have a say in what happens in their area Bruce?
Djite: Well, language is important and it’s disappointing to see parliamentarians talking about copping the brunt when it comes to increasing housing supply. We have a strong Premier when it comes to housing and Minister Champion, they’ve been making announcements, spruiking the need for housing, how many people the state’s going to have to accommodate with AUKUS and all the other projects coming to the state, but the rubber needs to hit the road and that message clearly isn’t filtering through to the backbench.
Host 1: Bruce Djite, thank you for your company and also to Jayne Stinson, MP for Badcoe.
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