Howard Maclean | The ACT government needs an overhaul on zoning system to alleviate housing stress

Earlier this year, Greater Canberra joined with 14 other community organisations and businesses to form Missing Middle Canberra, a campaign calling for the government to legalise low-impact medium-density housing (like townhouses, terraces and dual occupancies) in all of Canberra's RZ1 areas where most forms of housing, other than detached houses, are generally illegal.

Our proposal is big and simple. All of RZ1 becomes RZ2, the medium-density zones around each suburb's shops, where the height limit is still two storeys and over half of a block must be greenspace. All of RZ2 becomes RZ3, allowing low rise (up to three-storey) apartment blocks. This would be a universal, fair and transparent change that doesn't play favourites with certain suburbs or districts.

We know from similar experience in Auckland that these reforms lower rents and increase housing affordability. They also reduce emissions, lower infrastructure and service costs, and increase the viability of local shops. Medium-density housing in established suburbs offers existing residents the opportunity to downsize in their neighbourhood and allows young families affordable housing options in suburbs near established schools and good parks.

Zoning reform is also a practical necessity. As a community, we have decided that 70 per cent of all future housing must occur by infill. There is no greenfield district currently planned after Molonglo, meaning we cannot provide the homes that our children and future Canberrans need if we continue to ban additional housing in 80 per cent of our residential land.

Canberrans know this. The recent consultation on the draft Territory Plan found broad support for medium-density throughout Canberra, including 71 per cent support in a survey for dual occupancy reform in RZ1. This isn't new: reform to enable more RZ1 dual occupancies was one of the key recommendations of the 2018 Housing Choices collaboration hub.

The price of this reform is modest and gradual change to our suburbs, but this is a low price to pay for a city in which children do not grow up in poverty and essential workers do not sleep in cars. Canberra is one of the lowest density cities on earth - building the housing we need does not require us to sacrifice green space or amenity.

Our MLAs know this too. The Chief Minister's Planning Bill speech emphasised the importance of missing middle housing to ensure Canberrans have diverse and affordable housing options.

Greens MLA Johnathan Davis called for missing middle housing as a way to ensure both affordability and access to high-quality services. In March, Greens planning spokesperson, Jo Clay, moved a motion calling for missing middle zoning reform.

In the new Territory Plan to be unveiled this month, the government must get missing middle done. There will be a temptation to go halfway. To carve out politically powerful suburbs from upzoning, or to spike reforms with procedural barriers that will allow the government to claim to have delivered zoning reform while ensuring that very little actual housing is delivered in places where people are likely to complain the loudest.

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The government must hold the course. It should implement the Missing Middle Canberra package in full, upzoning every RZ1 block to RZ2, and every RZ2 block to RZ3.

Half-measures will result in half-benefits, making our housing crisis worse than it needs to be. The Territory Plan will be subject to another committee inquiry and further opportunity for community consultation and involvement, which just makes it all the more important that the Assembly begin this process now.

Canberrans want reform to enable the missing middle housing we need. Our government has said they know this. It's time to get missing middle zoning reform done.