Estimates - Housing and Planning - 2000 social homes by 2027
Ms Burnet - In 2023, the government set a target of 2000 social homes by 2027. We're only six months shy of 2027. I'm interested to know what progress has been made and how many houses have been built?
Mr VINCENT - Yes, we'll get that figure on how many have been built. The program is starting to accelerate. Just of the last few hours, I think, we've just found out that our building applications are up by 40-odd per cent in Tasmania, against the national average of 9.8 per cent, which is encouraging after a flat period, and coming off that flat period. A lot of the work that Homes Tas and I guess it's fair to say in the room that we have all had various levels of criticism about the last few years of Homes Tas. But what we have seen is a lot of work they're doing is starting to come to fruition to accelerate that. I will hand it on Mr Wilson on a bit more detail on the 2000 homes.
Mr WILSON - I can report as of April 2026, we've delivered 700 social housing dwellings towards the 2000 target, and 76 towards our part of the supported accommodation. But I will note that towards our target of 10,000, we have so far delivered 2207 since that target was set.
Ms Burnet - I've also been talking to you since you've been minister about increasing the density through the northern suburbs transit corridor. I would see that as a huge boon for increasing the number of houses and so forth through there. Given this fairly low production of houses - and we haven't got nearly enough homes for Tasmanians in need, can you please update the committee on what progress has been made in updating the area plan so that the potential for the site through the transit corridor isn't squandered?
Mr VINCENT - Yes, certainly. And part of that is the showground development out there, where they're a little bit behind where they'd like to be. But through the whole corridor there, the funding was given to the Glenorchy City Council and it was responsible for the development of the corridor plan, in consultation with the City of Hobart. It was a $500,000 grant to enable the work, funded by the Department of State Growth. A steering committee, comprising representatives from the Hobart and Glenorchy city councils, Homes Tas and DSG are working closely together to oversee the development of the corridor. RDA (Regional Development Australia) have also been involved because obviously we want to make sure that it comes through.
There's still a lot of community conversation in regards to engagement with some of the landowners out there. I know a couple that have spoken to me when I've been out in that area are concerned about the height and the density at the showground. So it's a change of what they need to understand and to get used to.
With discussions on the rapid bus network, we are fully aware of the corridors out that way, and the potential to be within 500 metres of a corridor and needing that higher density. If you take that into the Brooker or the rail corridor or the main road, it gives a fair scope for a lot of area out there. Part of that also needs to be to look at how the use of industrial land out that way may be able to transition as people move out to Brighton, and to free up some larger tracts of land that would do it.
It's been quite interesting, once again, listening to a lot of the other states where there is a lot of talk about the cost of high density and medium density, which I found very interesting because other states have a lot more of it in their metro areas, of course. There is a lot of conversation about the cost savings of being around the three, four, five storeys, and the cost escalation once you go above five. If you think about Tasmania and greater Hobart, and most of our metro areas, three, four, five storeys fit quite well in most areas. I see that as a sensible development.
Also, when you're talking to the builders, we need to lift the qualifications of more builders in Tasmania to be able to do that height of building. There is a very limited number at the moment. So, we've been also having discussions around a lot of builders increasing their scope of work from being normal residential stuff to be able to take on multiple projects of a certain size. It obviously adds more to the ability for pricing and so forth, like that, but also the options that we have around Launceston, Devonport, Burnie, Hobart of being able to increase that density.