More than 600 hectares of land, enough to fit nearly 10,000 new homes, has been unlocked across greater Hobart, marking the biggest expansion of urban growth boundaries in years.
Housing Minister Felix Ellis said the land release will open up previously restricted areas in Brighton, Clarence, Kingborough and Sorell.
“This is a major step forward in delivering the homes Tasmanians need,” he said.
“We’re backing in the builders, cutting red tape and sending a clear message to the construction industry. Tassie is open for business and keen to get building.”
The announcement comes as the state government faces mounting pressure over housing supply.
The latest Housing Industry Association scorecard ranked Tasmania last in the country for housing construction.
Labor’s Luke Edmunds jumped on the findings, calling the situation a “crisis” and pointing out that building approvals have slumped to their lowest level in eight years.
“People are desperate to get a roof over their heads,” Edmunds said.
“We should be doing everything we can to get new housing out of the ground, but instead in this state we rank dead last in the country.”
“People in my community want to see new housing because they know what that means. That means that their children and grandchildren can live near them or perhaps their grandparents can move into a smaller house in their community.”
Edmunds also flagged deeper issues holding back construction, from a lack of training opportunities for apprentices to broader workforce shortages.
“We’ve got people who want to join this workforce. We want to build a lot of things in Tasmania, but at the moment, that’s one piece of the puzzle that we’re failing on,” Edmunds said.
“We’re failing in planning and we’re failing in the actual construction of these buildings.”
To support the boundary expansion, the state government is now updating the regional land use strategy, with community consultation set to begin within 100 days.
