A housing minister’s embarrassing gaffe in saying a “reasonable price” to pay for an apartment in Sydney was only “a couple of hundred dollars” appears to rule out all rental apartments across the city, but leaves options open for a long journey.
NSW Housing Minister Rose Jackson took to TikTok on Thursday to claim she “gutted” her response to ABC Radio’s Hamish Macdonald on Wednesday when he asked her what was “a reasonable rent” in Sydney.
After the minister replied “a couple of hundred dollars”, Macdonald pressed her on where in Sydney, which has an average rent of $720, a place could be found for just $200.
“There are places in Sydney where you can do it,” Mrs Jackson insisted.
A search on realestate.com found no apartments in the greater Sydney area for less than $200, although there was a room available for that price in a 12-bedroom share house in Merrylands, in the city’s west, “for men only.” “.
However, there is a “clean and tidy unit with built-in wardrobes, large lounge/living room and two spacious bedrooms” available for just $180 a week for those willing to make a six-hour-a-day round trip to and from work.
Located in Merriwa, 270km northwest of Sydney, it is one of four two-bedroom units in New South Wales available for $200 a week or less.
The other properties available are in the northern tablelands of New South Wales, in Glen Innes and Moree, located 577 km and 633 km from Sydney respectively.
The closest “reasonably” priced unit to Sydney, i.e. $200 or less, is this two-bedroom Merriwa Inn.
The New South Wales town of Merriwa is located 270 km northwest of Sydney or approximately three hours’ drive.
Wednesday’s interview earned Jackson much ridicule online, with one social media user asking: “Out of touch?” Incompetent? Both?’
Ms Jackson claimed on Thursday she was talking about what might be hypothetically reasonable rather than what “people in Sydney actually pay”.
‘Did I say rent in Sydney is $200 a week? No,’ he said.
The minister insisted she was well aware of how “really expensive” renters were in Sydney, but that radio interviews had a “difficult format” in which she sometimes “mixed up” her answers.
“Sometimes your words get a little jumbled, you’re a little human,” he said.
“I can be a pretty intense person whose words don’t always come out well and in sync,” she said.
‘I know rent in Sydney costs hundreds and hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
‘That’s why I talk about the real estate crisis all the time; I wouldn’t do that if I thought the rent was affordable.
“I’m trying to recognize how difficult it is for people.”
Ms. Jackson confessed that she had a history of “getting a little gutted,” such as when she appeared on live television and mistook the Pavlovian response for Pavlova.
He also reminded viewers that Thursday is World Kindness Day.
“It’s important that we all be a little kind to each other, that we recognize each other’s flaws, mistakes, confusing words and mistakes,” he said.
New South Wales Housing Minister Rose Jackson took to the video-sharing platform TikTok to defuse her gaffe: $200 is a reasonable price to rent a flat in Sydney.
During her interview with Macdonald, Ms Jackson defended her “a couple of hundred dollars” comment by noting there was “a lot of variety” in the Sydney property market.
“A two-bedroom luxury penthouse in the eastern suburbs is quite different to a clean and tidy two-bedroom apartment next to a train station in western Sydney,” he said.
“They are both good homes.”
He also abruptly responded to a question about the federal Labor government’s record immigration rate during the housing crisis.
“I don’t think it’s fair or accurate to categorize immigration as the source of the housing crisis,” he told Macdonald.
“We have always supported a sensible conversation about immigration, but ultimately our job is to deliver supply and one of the challenges with supply is skilled labor.”
Macdonald intervened with a forceful analysis of reality: “But demographic growth does affect the supply of housing, and they are not unrelated.”
‘States need to plan infrastructure, roads and services to accommodate more people. That’s just a fact, right?
Mrs Jackson responded: “That’s why we want a sensible conversation about it, but I don’t think it’s sensible to say that if we stop immigration to this country the pressures on our housing market will go away.”
Ms. Jackson was quickly criticized for the interview on social media, with many calling her incompetent and questioning her ability to do the job.
“It is deeply concerning that this person is in charge of addressing the housing and rental crisis,” one said. ‘Out of touch? Incompetent? Both?’
Another added: “The minister should resign immediately and this is also very offensive to all the people in Sydney looking for housing.”
A third said: “Whether you are a Labor or Liberal Housing Minister, getting it horribly wrong on rents only reinforces how out of touch the political class is,” one wrote.
“It’s sad when politicians are simply out of touch with the reality of normal people, a little sadder because Rose Jackson is supposed to be one of the ones who ‘get it’ when it comes to housing and planning,” said another.