THIS month New South Wales will hold a general parliamentary election. CPSA’s top-two issues are accessibility of train stations and social and affordable housing.
Under the Transport Access Program (TAP) the NSW Government plans to upgrade all train stations to improve accessibility. However, there is a lack of transparency regarding both the priority criteria for stations that will be upgraded and the timeline for upgrades. Progress has been very slow.
Unanderra station is an example of a station where transparency is desperately needed. CPSA urges NSW Labor to commit to completing the TAP within a tight time frame and making all train stations accessible to those with a disability and/or mobility issues as a matter of the highest priority. CPSA urges that NSW Labor commit to publicly releasing the timeline for completion of TAP and the priority criteria for train station upgrades.
CPSA is very concerned about the growing numbers of people who are homeless, locked out of social housing and home ownership. The severity of the housing crisis in NSW is evidenced by the 27 per cent increase in homelessness between 2011 and 2016, double the national average of 14 per cent. CPSA notes the NSW Government is taking action, but it’s not enough.
In NSW the social housing waiting list is over 61,000 households. Wait times of 10 or more years apply in most areas. Instead of building new housing to reduce the waiting list, eligibility criteria have been tightened.
The respected Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI) has found that Australia needs to triple its social housing stock over the next 20 years to cover both the existing backlog and newly emerging need. The severity of the housing crisis in NSW is evidenced by the 27 per cent increase in homelessness between 2011 and 2016, double the national average of 14 per cent.
