Leichhardt cannot be expected to solve the housing crisis on its own. Inner West Council and the State Government have together set targets for Leichhardt of almost 10,000 new dwellings. On top of this, our Labor Ward Councillor Philippa Scott supported a motion to add a further 2,000 dwellings, in a deal that saw housing removed from Marrickville and dumped on Leichhardt. That's 12,000 new homes in total. And that's just Stage 1. There's more to come.

 

This unprecedented scale of development only happens through massive demolitions - 70% of the existing housing in our suburb could be mowed down. Communities will be destroyed, businesses will face hardship and Leichhardt will be a construction zone for 15 years.

 

People will be displaced and our communities decimated. We already have the 2nd lowest amount of open space per person in NSW, and there is no land available to increase that. 

 

Leichhardt's Light Rail is not fit for mass transport. An additional 20,000 people will overwhelm transport in our suburb which has no heavy rail or a Metro Station. 

 

Housing affordability is a smokescreen being used by Council and State Government to create a bonanza for developers. With high land costs in the Inner West, housing built by private developers for profit puts renting or buying even further out of reach for people on average wages. The pledge to provide affordability for essential workers, families and young people is an empty promise.