Housing is the biggest single cost of living pressure people are dealing with right now, with mortgage repayments or rent the largest expense for most households.

A recent productivity commission report found between 2016 and 2021, Sydney lost twice as many people aged 30 – 40 as it gained. These are the people who open businesses, have families, build communities and contribute to the local economy.

In response to this, the NSW government has announced the first stage of an incentive program for local governments which meet and beat their housing targets. The program will reserve $200 million in grants for councils to fund more green spaces such as parks, sporting facilities and smaller pocket parks, plus maintenance of local streets and footpaths which councils maintain.

For a very long time, Western Sydney has accepted the overwhelming burden of new housing in Sydney without proper infrastructure to cope with the increase in population. The government’s new targets aim to ensure more homes are built around established infrastructure, in places that are connected to work and transport and in communities that already have schools and hospitals.

The new five-year targets ensure while all areas will see an increase in homes being built, new housing will be more fairly rebalanced from west of Sydney towards east and north. Of the new homes in the target, 53% are in eastern Sydney LGAs, including Ku-ring-gai and Northern Beaches. This compares to 34% of homes already in the pipeline to be delivered.

Comparatively, western Sydney LGAs such as Penrith and Hawkesbury will have a target of 18% for new homes, as compared to 25% of homes already in the system. Similarly, central Sydney LGAs including Parramatta and Canterbury-Bankstown that make up 41% of homes already in the pipeline account for 29% of the new home targets.