Solving the Housing Crisis
ACT Labor recognises the legitimate role of private investment in housing to provide housing supply and the deployment of gross national savings in solving this crisis. We need more social housing as well as affordable homes that low income workers can buy, save to buy, or rent in the ACT.
ACT Labor calls on the ACT Government to ensure that planning systems work to create decent and affordable homes with appropriate minimum standards of amenity requirements near physical and social infrastructure such as public transport, roads, health services, retail outlets, social supports and care and education. Included in this system must be affordable homes for the workers who are engaged in the provision of these services.
To achieve this ACT Labor calls for affordable housing for our healthcare workers, teachers, police officers, child-care workers, retail workers and all workers based off their income and their work location, to be a requirement in any rezoning for increased density. But to ensure these homes get built, it must be feasible for Developers to make a fair return. These two things can only happen if the ambition of rezonings matches the ambition of significantly increasing affordable housing in our community. This must be done in conjunction with good design and minimum amenity requirements to ensure the creation of affordable and liveable communities in any upzoned areas