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We're hearing a lot about NIMBYism lately, especially in Sydney where the new Labor Premier Chris Minns has put local governments on notice that they won't be allowed to stand in the way of development, especially in the midst of a housing crisis.
"Build up not out" is the chant being heard across the city, from politicians and the odd economist who lives in a posh, leafy and steadfastly low-rise suburb. It's sending a shudder through anyone with a longish memory who can recall the cosy arrangements between developers and political parties in NSW, which grew so loud in the last days of the previous Labor government that donations from developers were banned in 2010.
Those memories were jolted last week when Minns announced developers would be given a 30 per cent height and floor space bonus for projects worth more than $75 million that comprise 15 per cent affordable housing. They'll also be able to fast-track approval by being deemed state significant. Councils and local planning panels will have no say in whether they can or cannot proceed.
"Trojan horse!" yelled the mayor of one Sydney council, which has met its housing targets. "More shoebox-sized apartments in suburbs that can barely cope!"
Minns insists building more apartment towers is the way to grow Sydney but population movements recorded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics during the pandemic suggest people have other ideas, especially if they've been cooped up in one of those shoeboxes during a lockdown.
The ABS found that 86,000 people left Sydney in the first two years of the pandemic, between June 2020 and June 2022. Almost 60,000 left Melbourne, which was surprising seeing it was the most locked down city in the world.
And where did they go? Most headed for the 'burbs on the very outskirts of the major metropolitan centres. After that, coastal towns on the east coast, especially in Queensland. After staring at walls for months on end, they craved space and remote working arrangements made finding it possible.
We must, Minns says, get used to the idea of apartment living. That's a hard sell in NSW where four in 10 new apartment buildings have been found to have serious defects, costing on average $332,000 to fix. Some, like the Mascot Towers, have been so bad they're uninhabitable.
Giving developers more leeway - even with the dividend of a small percentage of affordable housing - seems risky at best. And the notion that to be a global city, Sydney needs to become a forest of apartment towers like Singapore or Hong Kong or any other Gotham where people are stacked on top of each other is utterly unimaginative.
It's time, perhaps, to think outside that square. Maybe we need more smaller cities rather than bullishly continuing to grow the large ones we have.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Will more apartment towers make our big cities any better? Or will they make them worse? Should developers be given more leeway? Are NIMBYs to blame for the housing crisis? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Senator Jacqui Lambie has come after the Greens for delaying the government's affordable housing package, saying that this will see "more kids sleeping out in cars with their parents" during winter. The crossbench senator said she was "floored" by the Greens' move to delay the government's housing bills this week - including Labor's $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund - telling the party that they are "not helping anything but yourselves".
- US President Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden, has agreed to plead guilty to two charges of wilfully failing to pay income taxes and to enter into an agreement that could enable him to avoid a conviction on a gun-related charge, according to a court filing.
- Qantas has dropped dramatically in prestigious world airline rankings, falling to number 17 globally. Qantas no longer makes the top 10 for cleanest airline and top cabin staff, and lost the title of top airline in the Asia Pacific region to Fiji Airways.
THEY SAID IT: "London changes because of money. It's real estate. If they can build some offices or expensive apartments they will, it's money that changes everything in a city." - David Bailey
YOU SAID IT: Jacqui Lambie asks the International Criminal Court to investigate the ADF leadership for its role in alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
"Absolutely the whole chain of command is responsible," says Peter. "Who sets the tone and culture? And parliamentarians should also wear some responsibility for making the decisions that send our military into conflicts with unclear purpose and outcomes. And they are responsible for holding senior command to account for the Australian people."
Elaine agrees, saying: "Congratulations to Lambie for standing up and speaking out."
David delves into history: "General Tomoyuki Yamashita was a Japanese general who was held responsible for war crimes committed by his troops in the Philippines during the later stages of World War II. Yamashita was charged with 'unlawfully disregarding and failing to discharge his duty as a commander to control the acts of members of his command by permitting them to commit war crimes'. The defence argued that Yamashita had no knowledge of the specific war crimes committed by his troops and that he did not have effective control over his forces in the Philippines due to the chaotic situation at the time. Yamashita was hanged. The case is considered the precedent for the Doctrine of Command Responsibility. Namely, a military commander can be held responsible for war crimes committed by their subordinates if they either knew or should have known about the crimes and failed to take appropriate action to prevent or punish them."
"I still remember when war crimes were what the other side did, and never ours," says Carl. "We were the good guys, after all. Plus, whoever won got to decide who the war criminals were like all those bad Germans and Japanese. And then came the Vietnam War which I witnessed first-hand and even then thought we were still the good guys despite the casualness of our own cruelties like free-fire zones and Agent Orange and damn the collateral damage. Even My Lai was considered an exception with the punishment inflicted on the lowest of the low, never those higher-ups who set the table and sent them there. Australia's leaders continue jumping into every scrapping fight around the world, no matter how far or directly relevant to our national security. But unlike Vietnam, these wars are now in secret by volunteers, barely covered by the media and then to a set-down narrative we're all supposed to believe. Too bad it's all turned out to be such a sham and now what? Who's even going to sign up for the next war?"
Sue says: "Any internal investigation of a serious matter should be impartial, and that means out of 'house'. Smaller, localised, and administrative issues do not need the same distance for effective analysis and sometimes are better for being completed by those involved, but this is not true for the bigger issues. It is hard for an ordinary member of the public to see how more senior members of the services could have been unaware of what was happening under their command, or is their crime incompetence instead? Agree with your comments on Jacqui Lambie. Sometimes I have my doubts, but this time I think she, and you, are spot on."