The State Liberal Party has vowed to unlock additional housing development sites ignored by Labor under its proposed amendments to the Environment and Food Production Areas Bill.
The State Opposition has spent years lobbying for changes to the EFPAs, accusing Labor of being lazy by drawing arbitrary lines on a map, some of which make no sense to the people who know the land best.
Opposition Leader, Vincent Tarzia, says the party supports the bill in principle and will seek to make positive amendments to unlock even more land, not suitable for farming.
“We are working to help solve the housing crisis that has worsened under Labor,” Mr Tarzia said.
“Any changes we make will be with a view to unlock more land, not less, while protecting our future food production capabilities.
“Labor has not built a single house on the sites announced in 2023 and it will be another two and a half years before anyone can dream of moving in.
“We’ve seen this movie before, and we want a different ending this time.
“Now, they have performed a complete backflip, from promoting urban infill and limiting growth, to promoting Adelaide’s expansion.
“Peter Malinauskas must commit to serious housing targets so the public can hold him to account, and he must rule out passing on the cost of infrastructure to households, like they’ve done with the $85 price hike on the average annual SA Water bill.”
“I’m also calling on Housing Minister Nick Champion to release details of how these new boundaries were devised, including information around agricultural land value and water access and infrastructure costs.”
Shadow Housing Minister, Michelle Lensink, says the Liberal Party has always supported a review of EFPAs in a bipartisan way, including providing feedback in July last year.
“We’ve done the hard work to listen to locals and get boots on the ground to visit these areas,” Ms Lensink said.
“We’ve identified changes that can be made to EFPAs that will provide more land for new housing developments, closer to infrastructure, than the Government’s proposals.
“This includes additional land around Victor Harbor and Goolwa no longer suitable for long term viable farming or currently used as hobby farms.
“There is also potential in the land west of Port Wakefield Road, including Dublin, which could provide a convenient location for housing and industry relatively close by, complementing land released in Roseworthy and Two Wells.
“We believe this gets the balance right between unlocking our housing potential and securing our food future.
“Our amendments will also seek to make future revisions easier as our population continues to grow.”
Mr Tarzia noted that it was the Liberal Party that opposed the former Labor Government’s proposal to establish a growth boundary set in law, as it would affect housing affordability and cost jobs in the construction sector.
“The Liberals are committed to ensuring land removed from the EFPA has appropriate and faster access to essential infrastructure and services, to address Labor’s housing affordability crisis, while also enabling more construction jobs sooner.”
“Our role is to keep this Government to account by making sure any imposed EFPA boundaries achieve their intended purpose to protect highly productive land and allow non-productive land to be developed,” Mr Tarzia said.
The Liberal Party will introduce its proposed amendments to the legislation in Parliament next week.
