The 1950 housing headline that is still relevant in NSW 76 years later

NSW Liberal Leader Kellie Sloane has signalled she intends to make next year’s state election a referendum on the housing crisis, warning history is repeating itself, with NSW Labor falling short on building targets as it did almost 80 years ago.

In her first major speech on housing since taking the leadership late last year, Sloane told the Robert Menzies Institute on Monday that while it was easy to look back on the “Menzian era as the golden age of home ownership”, the founding father of the Liberal Party inherited a housing crisis.

At the time, there was “a rapid increase in migration”, Sloane said, and by 1949, home-building costs in Sydney were 28 per cent higher than they were in 1947.

“In fact, reports from the time set out that the cost to build a home had risen 150 per cent from 1939 to 1949 in Sydney,” Sloane said. “From 2016 to 2026 the increase in building costs was roughly 80 per cent.”

Meanwhile, Sloane said, history was repeating itself in NSW when it comes to housing targets.

“In our state in 1949, we had a Labor Premier called [Jim] McGirr who was failing to meet his promised housing targets,” Sloane’s speech said.

“An article from The Daily Mirror from 1950 referred to the 1947 election promise by the premier that 90,000 homes would be built in the three years from 1947 but revealed he had delivered 43 per cent less than what had been promised.”

Sloane said 76 years on, Labor has a “premier called Minns who promises big and under-delivers”.

“They’re 41 per cent behind on their National Housing Accord targets. In Victoria, they are only 8.1 per cent behind target,” Sloane’s speech said.

Australian Bureau of Statistics data released last month showed housing approvals jumped to just under 52,000 for the year to November, the highest 12-month figure for new building approvals in NSW since May 2023.

However, the Urban Development Institute of Australia warned that the increase was still below the level needed to reach NSW’s Housing Accord target of 377,000 new homes by June 2029.

Sloane said the Coalition would devise “practical policies to deliver more houses for young Australians”.

This will include reintroducing first home buyers’ choice of paying upfront stamp duty or an annual land tax, and freezing NSW Labor’s housing productivity contribution charge of $12,000 on new homes at least until mid-2029.

They will also encourage empty nesters to downsize by providing a stamp duty exemption.

Sloane said the NSW Liberals must deliver a “bold housing agenda”.

“As Liberals we cannot simply wax lyrical about the successes of 60 years ago with Menzies or 20 years ago with Howard and just declare we are the natural party of home ownership because of their achievements,” Sloane said.

“We face the very real risk that the Liberal Party becomes the natural party of opposition if we do not once again renew our commitment to growing homes.”

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.