Month: July 2024

The Minns Labor Government is continuing to pull every available lever to address the housing affordability and availability crisis facing New South Wales, with the first sites to trial modular social housing announced today.

As the Government continues to look at innovative ways to bring more homes online sooner, $10 million has been invested to explore and trial the use of modular housing to deliver much needed social homes for the people of NSW.

Following a comprehensive assessment, sites in Wollongong and Lake Macquarie have been identified as suitable locations to deliver the first modular social homes.

Three sites in Wollongong will host three modular social homes, whilst four sites in Lake Macquarie will host five modular social homes.

A procurement process for the delivery of these homes has begun, with completion expected by early 2025.

Modular housing provides a cost effective and time efficient alternative to traditional building methods, which means homes can be brought online faster. It is estimated that modular homes can be delivered 20% faster than traditional methods, with time savings expected to increase over time.

Last year, the NSW Government formed the Modular Housing Taskforce, an expert cross industry panel who have spearheaded this project and provided advice to the government on barriers to the utilisation of and ways modular housing can be harnessed to speed up the delivery of homes.

The Taskforce includes peak industry experts such as; PreFab Aus, Shelter NSW, Property Council of Australia, Local Government NSW and people with lived experiences of social housing.

As modular housing has not previously been used at scale in NSW, feedback from the Taskforce highlighted several regulatory barriers to the rollout of modular housing widely, which the NSW Government is methodically working through.

This work includes collaborating with the NSW Building Commission to set uniform standards for manufactured homes constructed offsite.

The NSW Government will continue to work with the Taskforce, and local governments as it looks to expand the Modular Housing Program across the state and bring more social homes online sooner.

For more information visit: www.nsw.gov.au/homes-nsw/MMC.

Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns said:

“Housing affordability and availability is the single biggest pressure facing the people of New South Wales.

“We are pulling every lever we can to tackle the housing crisis, and today is an important milestone in our work to utilise nontraditional methods of delivering more homes, sooner rather than later.”

Minister for Housing and Homelessness Rose Jackson said:

“Today marks another significant milestone in our Modular Housing Taskforce Plan as we announce the locations for the first set of modular social homes.

“These initial sites are a crucial first step towards revolutionising public housing delivery and we anticipate this demonstration project will pave the way for more of these innovative homes to be rolled out in the future.

“Amid a severe housing crisis, we need to look at every option we must get a roof over people’s heads sooner. Leveraging modern construction methods will help us provide sustainable, quality housing faster for the people that need it most.

“We know people don’t have time to wait and while we get on with the job of building 8,400 new public homes announced in the recent budget, we will continue to leverage every opportunity we have.”

Member for Wollongong Paul Scully said:

“Modular and modern methods of construction are used to produce award-winning architecturally designed homes in a timely and efficient manner, so it makes sense to trial this approach to construction as part of the Minns Government’s commitment to build more social housing.

“I welcome not only the use of new and innovative methods of construction that are used the world over to trial them to build more social housing in Wollongong – it is a sensible use of new technology to try and solve a long-term housing waiting list.”

Manildra residents have celebrated the completion of the once-in-a-generation Mandagery Creek Bridge replacement project at a special community event which saw the unveiling of a heritage interpretation area to commemorate the history of the bridge.

The NSW Government provided $12 million to construct the new bridge, which includes a pedestrian footpath, wider lanes and a higher mass limit to boost transport efficiency throughout western NSW.

The new bridge opened to two-way traffic recently and work crews have now completed the finishing work which includes:

• new signage
• linemarking
• footpaths
• fencing
• construction of a heritage interpretation area.

The bridge provides an important link for Manildra residents to access the town centre, as well as for motorists and freight operators travelling between Orange and Parkes.

An innovative ‘half-half’ construction method was used to replace the bridge on its original alignment which involved partially demolishing and then constructing the upstream half of the bridge, before repeating the process for the downstream half.

This construction method meant there was a continuous single lane traffic flow across Mandagery Creek during almost all of the construction period.

NSW Minister for Regional Roads and Transport Jenny Aitchison said:

“The engineers behind this bridge build need to be congratulated for their ingenuity – progressively demolishing and building the bridge on the same alignment to minimise disruption to traffic, which is particularly important for local industry and the movement of freight.

“There are now no limitations on freight movements across the bridge, allowing for reduced travel times in getting materials from paddock to processing.

“We want to thank the whole community of Manildra for their support throughout the duration of the project.

“Well before construction started, I was pleased to hear Transport for NSW worked closely with the community and stakeholders including Cabonne Council, the Manildra and District Improvement Association, Manildra Group, MSM Milling and emergency services to prepare for the project.

“As well as a new bridge, locals and visitors now have a special place to stop, sit and appreciate the local history of the creek crossing at the heritage interpretation area.”

Labor’s spokesperson for Orange Stephen Lawrence MLC said:

“It’s great to see the history of this iconic bridge being honoured permanently.

“The first Mandagery Creek Bridge was built in 1879 and two horsedrawn wagons were the first traffic to cross it, but after 49 years of service, it was washed away by floodwater in February 1928. A concrete bridge was built to replace it in almost the same position, which was opened on 21 April 1930.

“But 90 years later, that bridge was in poor condition and failing to meet modern design standards.

“We now have a replacement bridge that meets current design standards and will improve safety for motorists and pedestrians.

“A big shout out to the hard working project team who, despite significant delays due to weather and losing the established project site in the 2022 flood, ensured the project was finished on time.”

Motorists are reminded to slow down and remain vigilant with school zones back in force from Monday 22 July, as Term 3 commences in NSW.  
 
Sally Webb, Deputy Secretary of Safety, Environment and Regulation at Transport for NSW said school zones are generally in place from 8 to 9.30am and from 2.30 to 4pm, and although Monday is a teacher development day at some schools, some students still return to school tomorrow. 
 
“Children can be curious and unpredictable on the road, so please look out for them when they are crossing, waiting to cross or as they get on or off buses. 
 
“Tragically, 23 children were involved in a crash in an active school zone last year, and five of them were seriously injured.  We don’t want more children to be hurt on our roads, so we need everyone to be responsible.” 

Ms Webb said drivers need to observe school zone limits and those who disobey road rules and gamble with the lives of children will face higher penalties and risk losing their licence. 
 
“We take road safety around schools very seriously, which is why we have over 1,450 trained school crossing supervisors at over 980 schools across NSW, to help students arrive to school and leave safely. 
 
“I also encourage parents and guardians to start teaching their children from a young age about how to be safe on the road. Remind them to Stop! Look! Listen! Think! every time they cross the road, and to keep checking until they safely reach the other side,” Ms Webb said.

For more information on school zones, please visit https://www.transport.nsw.gov.au/roadsafety/community/schools/school-zones

The Minns Labor Government has set up a taskforce, comprised of Transport for NSW, NSW Police and Revenue NSW, to crack down on drivers exploiting the demerit point system.

The Minns Labor Government has set up a taskforce, comprised of Transport for NSW, NSW Police and Revenue NSW, to crack down on drivers exploiting the demerit point system (PDF, 122.61 KB).

The Demerit Point Integrity Taskforce has been established to identify any fraudulent behaviour in the demerit point scheme, such as drivers racking up high numbers of demerits and those selling demerit points online, including on Facebook Marketplace.

It will investigate any gaming of the legitimate process for nominating another driver to take demerit points for an offence.

The NSW Government is beefing up the system to make it more robust after a recent high-profile case where a French national had more than 200 demerit points applied to his licence.

There are 6.9 million NSW driver licence holders, but the Taskforce will focus on a tiny fraction (0.005%) of drivers who have 20 or more demerit points.

The Taskforce will review the suitability of current penalties, suspensions and what extra measures are available to deter people who rack up extremely high demerits.

For example, a driver with 13 demerit points receives the same five-month suspension as a driver with 20 or more.

The Taskforce will also examine:

• Who is eligible to opt for a good behaviour period in lieu of a suspension, based on how many demerits they have
• The ability for a driver to be back on the road between suspensions. This can occur when, for example, a driver is first suspended for unpaid fines. When that suspension is lifted, a driver with excess demerits will then be served with notice to suspend but is able to drive in the intervening period before the next suspension starts
• Better enforcement options in the case that someone owns a vehicle, does not drive it, but still receives the infringements associated with the vehicle
• Rental companies accessing demerit balance or driving history before approving a rental

The Taskforce will initially run for three months and report its findings to Government.

In light of a rising number of lives being lost on roads across Australia, the NSW Government is committed to improving road safety to keep communities safe.

Earlier in the year, the Minns Labor Government closed the loophole left by the Liberal-National government to ensure all motorists driving on a foreign licence will now have a maximum of six months to convert to a NSW licence.

Minister for Roads John Graham said:

“The demerit point system in NSW was designed more than 50 years ago and has been a key plank in improvements that have enhanced road safety over those five decades.

“The NSW Government has zero tolerance for anyone trying to subvert the system. There is one set of road rules and they apply equally to all.

“This is the right time for Police, Transport for NSW and Revenue NSW to come together to review the demerit point scheme and make sure it remains completely robust.”  

Acting Minister for Police and Counter-terrorism, Tara Moriarty said:

“The demerit point system exists for the safety of every road user.

“Unfortunately, the NSW Police Force continue to witness dangerous driver behaviour every day on our roads, from speeding, to drivers using their mobile phones and not driving to the road conditions, these are serious offences that endanger not only the driver’s life, but those of their passengers and other road users.

“I want to make clear there is zero tolerance for anyone who tried to subvert the demerit and penalty system. This Taskforce will help ensure the penalties apply to all road users.”

Minister for Regional Transport and Roads Jenny Aitchison:

“The demerit point system is a key tool to keep drivers accountable for their behaviours on our roads.

“The system is in place to keep everyone safe. The NSW Government is committed to identifying and addressing any opportunities for exploitation that affect the operation of the scheme and put road users at risk.

“Acts like falsely claiming to be the driver and taking points for a fee are criminal and the Taskforce will examine ways to help identify and punish unscrupulous people who take advantage of the system.

“The Taskforce will also consider the most appropriate way for Transport for NSW, NSW Police and Revenue NSW to work together in the future to ensure that the demerit point scheme is fair and equitable for every NSW licence holder and continues to support road safety in NSW.”