It’s the biggest investment in public housing in decades – but will it be enough?

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Public housing construction in Murray Bridge is struggling to keep pace with population growth, new analysis has shown.

The city was last week left off a list of regional centres which will share in a $60 million spend on new public housing across South Australia.

Homes will instead be built in Adelaide and at Clare, Kadina, Moonta, Mount Gambier, Wallaroo and Whyalla.

Public housing is intended to help vulnerable and low-income households who can’t find accommodation on the private market, either because there aren’t enough properties around or because they’re too expensive.

It’s important when few properties are available and rental prices are rising fast.

The SA Housing Authority will put the finishing touches on 12 new homes in Murray Bridge this month.

Three more have already been completed, others have been refurbished, and two former SAHA properties have been transformed into units for young people at risk of homelessness: one in 2021 and another last month.

Put together, Human Services Minister Nat Cook described it as the biggest investment in public housing in the community for decades.

“The fact this build has already been undertaken prior to many other regions in South Australia is an indication of our understanding of the priority,” she told Murray Bridge News.

“The (Peter) Malinauskas government is continuing to invest in public housing across the state.”

While she acknowledged that Murray Bridge had not been included in the latest list of communities to get more housing, she said more would be planned over the next year.

But how much public housing do we need?

Our population is growing faster than ever

There were 555 Housing SA properties in the Murray Bridge district in 2021, according to the SA Housing Authority.

In other words, public housing made up 5.6 per cent of local housing stock at that time, based on Australian Bureau of Statistics figures – slightly more than the state average.

The problem?

Murray Bridge’s population is growing at a faster rate than its public housing supply.

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A 2022 council projection estimated the district would need a total of 3000 extra homes to accommodate population growth over the next 20 years, or 150 per year.

The state government’s more recent growth plan for Greater Adelaide went even further, suggesting up to 8000 homes would be needed over 30 years – that’s more than 260 per year.

So how many SAHA properties would be needed just to maintain the current level of public housing in the community?

At least eight per year, every year, and potentially up to 15.

Meanwhile, the local rental market is getting more challenging by the year.

Just 16 properties were being advertised for rent at realestate.com.au on Wednesday, at an average of $450 per week.

That would represent a $125/week increase over the prices being charged last February, when Murray Bridge News conducted a similar check.

A University of New South Wales study suggested at that time that about 700 people had an unmet need for housing in the Murray Bridge district.

What is the government doing about it?

The South Australian Housing Authority is in the process of building more than 560 homes across the state, and repairing hundreds more, over a four-year period as the result of a Labor election promise.

Ms Cook said tenders for the construction of another 154 homes would be issued over the next year.

Murray Bridge had not yet been ruled in or out for any of those homes.

In the meantime, the SA Housing Authority has issued a call-out for builders willing to help deliver the next round of construction.

Builders have until next Wednesday, March 20, to pre-qualify.

At the time of publication, no Murraylands-based companies had pre-qualified, according to the SA Housing Authority.

“If you are a South Australian builder, now is the time to work with us to re-build public housing in this state,” SA Housing Trust board member Mary Patetsos said.

“While we support your business with a pipeline of work, you are part of improving public housing for South Australians.”

• More information: www.housing.sa.gov.au.
• Read more: Labor promises to invest in public housing in Murray Bridge
• Read more: At last, Murray Bridge gets more public housing

Clarification: This story has been updated to include an additional statement from Human Services Minister Nat Cook.