Australia news live: Sydney in ‘enormous’ housing emergency; Dutton repeats claim ‘most basic of detail’ missing on voice to parliament

Sydney facing ‘enormous’ housing emergency, research finds

More than one in 10 households in Sydney’s south-west are unable to meet surging living costs including rent.

More than 12.7% of families and individuals living in south-west suburbs are experiencing housing stress, according to data commissioned by the Community Housing Industry Association.

Research from the University of New South Wales’ City Futures Research Centre, measured rental hardship, overcrowding and the number of people experiencing homelessness.

Close to one in five households in Fairfield, or 5,400 residences, are not able to afford housing needs.

The Top 10 worst-affected NSW locations are all in Sydney, including Fairfield, Bankstown, Auburn, Cabramatta, Granville, Liverpool, Canterbury, Strathfield, Parramatta and Kogarah.

The data paints a picture of how Sydney is continuing to socially fracture, the association’s NSW chief executive, Mark Degotardi, said.

Your postcode should not determine whether you live in housing crisis.

The scale of this housing emergency is just enormous and it deserves an urgent response from the state government to address it.

This is a wakeup call to the incoming NSW government – you cannot continue to sit idly by while tens of thousands of everyday families and individuals struggle to find or keep their home.

The findings come 61 days out from the NSW election, with the major parties pledging to address the crisis.

Late last year, the government banned real estate agents soliciting rental bidding from prospective tenants, making offending agents and corporations subject to hefty fines.

Labor has promised to end no-faults evictions and ban secret rental bidding, commit to introducing a portable bond scheme between rentals and establishing a rental commissioner who can advocate for tenant rights.

The Greens have urged for an immediate freeze on rental prices and support for an end to no-grounds evictions.

– AAP