MEDIA RELEASE - 20 MAY 2011

Following months of lobbying, the new NSW Planning Minister, the Hon Brad Hazzard MP, has dumped Labor’s State Environmental Planning Policy (SEPP) for Affordable Rental Housing after 8 weeks in office.

The former Labor Government’s law allowed medium density residential units to be built even in quiet suburban neighbourhoods as long as 20% of the housing was set aside to be rented at below market rates for 10 years. This law also allowed some developers to rort the loophole by making those units far smaller in order to maximise their future profits.

“This law circumvented the expectations of the local community who has worked hand-in-glove for decades with their local councils in determining what kinds of development are allowed in their neighbourhoods,” said Clr Chiang Lim.

Clr Lim is a long-time campaigner against the SEPP for Affordable Rental Housing and stands as the only Parramatta City Councillor to have voted consistently against every development application that sought to profit from that SEPP. (Click here for the statistics.)

“When you have peaceful suburban neighbourhoods now upset because those SEPP redeveloped properties are attracting 10 to 20 times more residents and cars than normal, it is little wonder why Australians lost faith of the planning system,” said Clr Lim.

Congratulating the new Minister for Planning, Clr Lim will also be contributing his suggestions on how to tackle the rising cost of housing. Housing affordability is normally deemed as between 30%-35% of each household’s income.

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For any further information, please contact Clr Chiang Lim,
Parramatta City Council on 0427 277 299 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it