The jail, the light rail and the eastern suburbs housing war

An eastern suburbs Labor mayor has lashed the state opposition’s plan to turn Long Bay jail into thousands of new homes, claiming “it just can’t be done” in any reasonable time frame.

Randwick Mayor Dylan Parker’s comments have set up an eastern suburbs housing showdown as his mostly Liberal neighbours in Woollahra Council explore legal advice to stop a state-led rezoning around a to-be-built Woollahra station.

The site occupied by Long Bay prison has long been eyed by developers.Credit: Ben Rushton

Parker’s issue is not “that we don’t want it”, but rather it’s “not a serious solution” to the housing crisis.

“This strikes me as a knee-jerk reaction to the sensible Woollahra proposal which is situated on a heavy rail line,” Parker said.

Parker believes the Liberal plan to offer a rapid bus services would not be enough to cater to a significant uplift in housing, and said a new metro or heavy rail line would be needed instead.

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“We want to have a serious conversation about doing our fair share, but until we get investment in public transport, we can’t do it. It would be better to be upfront rather than give the community the false hope that this could be delivered in the next decade.”

If elected at the 2027 state election, the Coalition has committed to rezoning the precinct to allow for up to 12,000 new homes. They are committing to a rapid bus service from Long Bay to Kingsford and the city, similar to the Northern Beaches B-line, and will look at the possibility of extending the light rail.

An Infrastructure NSW report in 2014 identified a light rail extension from Kingsford to La Perouse, including a stop at Long Bay, as a way to unlock potential land use. In 2020, the South East Sydney Transport Strategy recommended a metro line be investigated to La Perouse.

“[Premier] Chris Minns keeps saying eastern Sydney needs to carry its fair share. Well, here is a golden opportunity for Chris Minns to put his money where his mouth is,” Liberal leader Mark Speakman said earlier this month.

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Labor Maroubra MP Michael Daley and Minns both say the proposal cannot work without a heavy rail line. Daley used question time last week to label the plan “a bloody doozy”.

Instead, the government is pursuing its plan to complete the abandoned Woollahra train station and rezone the area to allow for 10,000 new homes in the suburb and nearby Edgecliff. Rather than knocking down a prison, standalone houses would be toppled to make way for high-rise apartment buildings.

Labor insists Woollahra is the most feasible place for new high-density housing in Sydney, and has dismissed criticism of the plan as NIMBYism. The NSW Liberals attacked the announcement as light on detail, and Liberal Mayor Sarah Dixson said the plan would only deliver more luxury homes to the benefit of developers.

Ultimately, the voters of NSW will decide which proposal goes ahead – but not until the next state election in March 2027.

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