Lord Mayor candidates for Wollongong, from both Labor and the Greens, are focusing on affordable housing as the major driver in their campaigns for election on September 14.
This is the first time a new Lord Mayor will be elected in 13 years as the outgoing Lord Mayor, Gordon Bradberry, retires.
Tania Brown, candidate for Labor, said that housing is at the forefront of her campaign.
“My top priority is housing affordability,” Ms Brown said.
“I’ve committed to driving housing to the top of the council’s agenda.
“I’ve been speaking to the general manager about what levers council has that we can pull to perhaps free up community land that could be used for affordable housing. I will be calling on him to do a review of the housing strategy.”
Image: Cr Tania Brown Facebook
Jess Whittaker, candidate for the Greens, discussed the importance of affordable housing and why it is her main policy.
“We want to see more affordable housing included in new developments,” Ms Whittaker said.
“We want the target to be lifted from 10 percent to 30 percent [affordable housing] by 2033.
“That’s probably the biggest policy announcement that we had during the campaign.”
Image: Jess Whittaker Greens Facebook
Ms Whittaker said that whilst she acknowledges that housing is also a state government issue, her policy will use the avenues available to council to improve housing in the Wollongong area.
“Even though we also need the state government to build social housing, that is the lever that the council can use to provide key worker housing and affordable rental housing for young people,” she said.
“That’s the thing that people are struggling with at the moment.”
Ms Whittaker said that improving housing accessibility in Wollongong is crucial because of the demand from university students.
“The housing market is skewed against young people and renters at the moment,” she said.
“Especially being a university town, it’s not acceptable that people come to study here and are just shut out of finding decent rental accommodation.”
Labor and the Greens candidates continue to advocate for affordable housing ahead of the election this weekend. Pre-polling for the Wollongong Local Government election will close on Friday, with polling booths opening from 8am to 6pm on Saturday across the Illawarra.
