NSW Liberals abandon YIMBY truce as housing goes on the ballot

The Minns government’s planning reforms will be on the ballot in March as Liberal MPs break from a pro-YIMBY stance to criticise developments in their backyard and argue Labor’s push for more housing is unsupported by the necessary infrastructure.

A year after then-opposition leader Mark Speakman declared the party was “unashamedly YIMBY”, Liberal MPs have become increasingly vocal in their criticism of Labor’s planning reforms, with one labelling the policies “destructive” and another saying some developments “lack social licence”.

As the state grapples to materially lift the construction of housing and vocal community groups oppose developments in their neighbourhoods, bipartisan support for the government’s suite of housing policies appears to be on the verge of shattering as Liberal MPs draw battle lines over development in Sydney.

A Labor strategist, speaking on condition of anonymity to speak freely, said that a year ago, they believed housing could have been a defining issue at the state election. Today, with One Nation in the ascendancy and migration an increasingly toxic issue, they no longer believed full-throated support for greater supply was a guaranteed vote winner.

Liberal MPs in inner Sydney electorates confirmed to this masthead they would run local campaigns against aspects of the Minns government’s planning reforms at the next election, arguing infrastructure commitments had not kept pace with increased housing supply.

Planning Minister Paul Scully attacked the party’s argument as evidence of having “settled back into their anti-housing NIMBY tendencies” and returning to a default setting that housing growth solely belongs in western Sydney.

“While the Young Liberals appear to still believe in the need to fix our housing challenges, their elected representatives are crab walking away from it and waiting for policy direction from One Nation,” he said.

First-term Drummoyne MP Stephanie Di Pasqua earlier this month attacked the “massive and unprecedented” proposal to build 60,000 more homes in her electorate over 15 years, saying the government’s vision demonstrated “contempt” for her inner-west electorate.

“I want my community to know that if they vote Labor, they will get 50 storeys in almost every suburb. Labor’s planning policy is destructive,” she said.

Held by 1285 votes, Drummoyne will be heavily targeted by Labor as it seeks to offset expected losses elsewhere and retain power.

Matt Cross – whose safe Davidson electorate covers swaths of the north shore – used a speech in parliament in June to criticise the government’s transport-oriented development policy and use of state significant development pathways as “controversial”.

“I repeat: those SSDs (state significant developments) lack social licence and community support because they were in Labor’s controversial TOD (transport oriented development) zone and not in the Ku-ring-gai housing strategy. Before people jump to give the community and me a label, I remind them that we live in a vibrant democracy,” he said.

Opposition planning spokesman Chris Rath accused the government of playing “postcode politics”, saying they only supported density “so long as it’s not in their backyard”.

“For local communities to embrace new developments and to make a dent into the housing crisis, the government must provide the funding to address schools that are already overcrowded, roads that are gridlocked, and local hospitals under strain,” he said.

The government’s planning policies would be one of the top-tier issues at the March election, frontbencher Tim James confirmed, saying his electorate felt shut out of planning decisions.

“The Willoughby community is deeply concerned about the scale of development being imposed without proper consideration of the infrastructure and services needed to support it,” he said.

In the neighbouring seat of Lane Cove, veteran MP Anthony Roberts said the government’s planning policies would deliver a “sugar hit” of supply followed by an “awful crash” which would require significant taxpayer funds to remedy the lack of strategic planning.

“You can’t put in massive unit towers with little parking with the expectation people use public transport when there’s no public transport,” he said.

North Shore MP Felicity Wilson said development was the No.1 issue in her electorate, saying the government had shoehorned a 35 per cent increase in housing supply into one Mosman suburb without investing in infrastructure. Similarly, Hornsby MP James Wallace also criticised the proposed rezoning around the Cherrybrook Metro station, which is slated to deliver 10,000 homes.

“There is no plan. No transparency on what infrastructure is actually required. No accountability to ensure it is delivered,” he said.

The case against the government’s planning reforms comes a year after Speakman used a speech at a housing conference to define his party as being pro-development after an unconvincing attempt to straddle both sides. He acknowledged his support was largely driven by the party’s lack of appeal to younger voters, saying: “A way to reverse that, I think, is to be aggressively pro-housing.”

In November, the opposition supported the government’s reforms of the planning system.

A Labor strategist said housing had become a “no win” issue for both sides, despite spending three years establishing the party’s pro-development bona fides.

“It’s not the thing we’re battling on or wanting to battle on,” he said. “You have to acknowledge it is an issue you don’t win votes on. I don’t think this election will be defined on our or the Liberals’ position on housing.”

A senior Labor source argued the Liberals’ inconsistency on planning policy would be exposed during the campaign, saying their criticism of the government’s planning policies would require them to articulate a realistic alternative plan.

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