In my role, I frequently interact with local essential workers and their leadership—police, principals, teachers, nurses, paramedics, bus drivers, childcare workers, cleaners and many more. Inevitably, the conversation turns to housing unaffordability as a key pressure, making existing staff more stressed and making it harder to fill vacancies. Looking at the data on incomes and property prices, it is not hard to see why.

All public school teachers, early childhood educators, bus drivers, cleaners, nurses, paramedics and police officers living alone are in rental stress—rent exceeding 30 per cent of weekly income—when they lease a median one-bedroom apartment on the northern beaches, which is $623 per week. Families in those key worker categories are all in rental stress when they lease a median three-bedroom apartment, which is $1,250 per week. It takes up to 20 years for key workers renting alone in those categories, assuming moderate living expenses, to save the 20 per cent deposit required to purchase the cheapest property sold on the northern beaches this past year. For families in those key worker categories who are looking to purchase the cheapest three-bedroom property sold on the northern beaches, it would take up to 86 years to save the necessary deposit.

Targeted intervention is clearly needed to deliver housing for those on lower incomes in the roles that enable society and local economies to function. There are solutions. On the northern beaches, the development of the Frenchs Forest town centre is the single most important opportunity to deliver affordable housing at scale, including for essential workers. That site alone will deliver an additional 1,000 dwellings, plus retail and commercial, right next to a hospital. I reflect more on the ramifications of squeezing essential workers out of our area. Ultimately, it costs our entire community as public service delivery is strained. It impacts the talent we can attract to our classrooms. The principal of one local primary school recounted to me recently that they offered a position to a very talented young teacher. He was their preferred candidate, but he had to turn down the job because he could not find anywhere to live locally.

Nurses and midwives working at Northern Beaches Hospital report that senior nurses are mostly long‑term employees, but turnover is high among younger nurses. They work at the hospital to get experience, stay for 18 months or so and then leave. The key factor driving them away is high local housing costs. High turnover at entry and mid level undermines the pipeline of future experienced and qualified nurses, which is a problem as older nurses retire. The issue most frequently raised with my electorate office is the reliability of local bus services, the only form of public transport in our area. The single biggest factor driving bus service unreliability is the driver shortage, and the biggest hurdle to recruiting bus drivers is housing affordability. One bus driver who moved to the area for the job explained his situation in a letter. He wrote:

I thought I would move to Sydney then look to rent a unit or a room or small apartment but it looks like I will end up staying in a car. It's the only affordable option at the moment. The reason is the cheapest I found around Mona Vale where I work is over $600 per week, which is more than half of my income. The real estate only accepts applications if rent is less than 1/3 of my income.

The personal toll of housing unaffordability on essential workers is profound. In the short term, it means either living locally in cramped conditions or commuting very long distances. In the medium to long term, it means being unable to save money or build a life and a sense of personal security and opportunity for themselves or their families. Local principals and teachers tell me that many young teachers in the area live with their parents. While every family circumstance is different, it is a problem when adult children feel that is their only option. Those living arrangements can strain relationships and prevent young people taking healthy steps to independence. Local nurses and midwives tell me of colleagues with families living in granny flats or converted garages, and I have heard of one instance of six nurses living together in a two-bedroom unit in Dee Why as they cannot afford to rent on their own. When essential workers cannot establish themselves in an area for the medium to long term, corporate and institutional knowledge is lost, intergenerational professional skill transfer decreases, our public service institutions are weakened and the social fabric of our communities is less coherent as staff are not as connected or integrated within their local community.

I welcome the news that the Select Committee on Essential Worker Housing will be holding a hearing on the northern beaches, and I sincerely hope it provides a meaningful forum to understand the problem and work together to fix it. The Government has a site; it is called the Forest High School. It is one development application away from becoming 1,000 units, plus commercial, plus retail, plus open space. That is a massive, significant step forward towards providing housing affordability. Let us create that solution.

20 September 2024, 13:29.