Shelter NSW, a social change agency committed to working for a fair and just housing system, today expressed concern that the NSW Budget does not include sufficient support for the National Rental Affordability Scheme.

Shelter NSW welcomed the O’Farrell government’s commitment to social housing programs on a ‘business as usual’ basis despite the strong pressures to reduce government expenditure.

However, Executive Officer Mary Perkins said the agency was concerned about the 8 per cent cut in grant-funding from state government sources to the Land and Housing Corporation, and expressed hope that housing assistance programs would be spared from the mooted $800 million cuts to as-yet unidentified government programs.

‘Housing unaffordability in this state is a chronic problem that the government needs to address’, she said.

‘We are hoping that the Government will move to ensure the growth of affordable housing options for NSW residents.’

In particular Shelter NSW is concerned that the Budget did not indicate a source of state matching subsidies for the main growth program for affordable rental housing, the joint Commonwealth-state National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS). This is necessary to ensure that NSW gets its fair share of the Commonwealth subsidies.

In addition the changes to stamp duty exemptions for first homeowners and the land releases program potentially biases new housing development to locations on the city edge. This ignores the demand for well-located housing within established urban areas.

‘The housing situation experienced by low and moderate income households is dire’, Ms Perkins said.

As at June 2010, there were 60,444 applicants waiting for public housing in NSW; there is a shortage of in excess of 50,000 private rental dwellings that are both affordable and available for very low income households in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong; and services for homeless people report turning away over 50 per cent of people seeking immediate accommodation.