Welcome to this week’s editorial,

Facts are interes ng when you look at them, especially when combined together with others to offer a wider perspec ve, and to even contribute, or sway, a possible outcome.

The 2012 Census told us that, on census night, there were 40,593 residents comprising 11,318 families.

On that night there were 16,603 occupied houses, and most interes ngly there were 6226 unoccupied private dwellings. Empty, no-one there. Maybe there were locals who had gone away for winter, but then most likely they were holiday houses and short term rentals wai ng for summer to come around again.

The interes ng thing about that figure is that, comparing apples to apples, on Census Night 2021 a total of 27.3% of our houses were empty, compared to the NSW average percentage of 9.4%

Source: h ps://www.abs.gov.au/census/find-census-data/quickstats/2021/LGA12750

Now we need to get this in context. Census night in 2021 was a Tuesday on the 10 August 2021. Days in August that year were around 18C, and overnight around 4.5C. There would have been very few holiday makers. From these figures one might therefore conclude that the vacant houses were indeed Short-term stay accommoda on or family holiday homes.

We learnt more in June 2022, Council reported that there were 8,500 non-resident ratepayers who owned houses in the shire. Without doubt some of those are rented out permanently as investment proper es, but to learn that on Census night there were 6226 vacant houses indicates that there is a considerable number of non-resident ratepayer proper es that are holiday homes and short stay rentals.

In June 2022 the Eurobodalla Mayor, Mat Hatcher, said that some councils around the country, like Brisbane and Byron Bay, are using the regula ons available to them to push holiday rentals onto the permanent rental market by reducing the days they can be available for holiday stays, but that he wanted the NSW Government to take the lead.

New NSW Planning rules introduced last year now require owners of residen al accommoda on, who rent out their property temporarily for commercial gain, to register their property and pay an annual registra on fee via the NSW Planning Portal. This move is to ensure the rentals and hosts are accountable to their tenants and to the adjacent community. Addi onally it comes with a complaints register and the bonus that occupancy rates are recorded and rental income is cross linked to the taxa on department.

Presently, according to the website AirDNA, there are 1224 ac ve, registered, short term rentals in Eurobodalla. That means that there are s ll a swag of unregistered Short term rentals and holiday houses out there.

Eurobodalla, like the rest of the country, is suffering a housing crisis. We don’t have houses to accommodate our own workers, from baristas to doctors. There is ample employment opportunity, but no where to live. If you then add the infla on, low wage growth and the mortgage rate rises to the equa on you soon discover increased rents driving affordable housing out the window.

So what to do? In 2022 Eurobodalla Council pleaded to owners of holiday homes and short term rentals to consider ren ng to permanents. There was a posi ve ini al response but not response enough to solve an ever growing problem.

We now have a new Labor State Government who have inherited a housing crisis. A crisis where there are not enough affordable houses available for our fixed waged labour force needs. The crisis across the State and across the South East will require some applied thought to find a solu on.

One op on is to put a spotlight on the known. In the case of Eurobodalla the known is the short-stay proper es that are listed on the short-term rental accommoda on (STRA) register.

All local councils in NSW have access to the STRA Register and have a role in enforcing the planning rules, including repor ng an unregistered STRA premises and enforcing a STRA Fire Safety Standard, covering such things as smoke alarms, emergency evacua on informa on or fire ex nguishers. Councils also have access to the register to review ongoing neighbourhood noise complaints.

Con nues…..

While the Register might make short stay rentals safer and more accountable the bonus for Councils and agencies is that it records rental nights and links the property income to the taxa on authority. The risk is therefore on the client if they choose to stay in an unregistered property.

So what would you do if you were a Eurobodalla councillor?

What if you had a housing crisis, that there are few rentals, there was high unemployment and a higher propor on of the shire living in rental accommoda on on fixed incomes, knowing that every week you have more and more dri ing into homelessness?

If you were a councillor would you consider placing pressure on those 6226 unoccupied private dwellings of the 2021 Census? How might you do it?

For a start you would have access to the STRA Register. You could immediately move to rate those proper es with a Business Ra ng, a er all they are a business like any warehouse or shop front, genera ng income from their services. That single move would put pressure on Short stay rentals to consider moving across to permanent tenancy. Can this be done? Victoria is doing it.

The next op on would be to support, at a NSW Planning level, the constraints of maximum rental days per year for those 1224 ac ve, registered, short term rentals in Eurobodalla. Maybe 180 days per year? Maybe the maximum of 60 days per year, as suggested by the Independent Planning Commission for Byron Shire. That might encourage short term rentals to consider their long term op ons.

Surely if there were more permanent rentals on the market the market place would see a downturn in expected weekly rents. Also there would be fewer investment proper es purchased to take advantage of the current lucra ve short stay market. This too might help to keep prices down.

But it isn’t just the housing crisis that will drive our Eurobodalla councillors to consider their op ons.

Eurobodalla Council is facing financial stress. All that was once reported as rosy ain’t so rosy. Council reported at its last mee ng “Similar to most councils throughout the state and indeed the na on, Council faces significant financial challenges in the coming years. Cost of living pressures affect local government just as they do households. It is more expensive to build things, to maintain them, and to run the services our community expects. In March 2023, Councillors and senior staff spent two-half days reviewing the Council’s financial situa on to iden fy a path forward for the shire in response to these challenges”.

In a nutshell Council needs more money from Us. That will come by way of increased fees and charges, increased rates while selling assets, and ra onalising delivery of services, reconstruc ons and renewals.

One place Councillors can look, and most likely will look, is the opportunity to gain more rates from commercial short term rentals sugges ng that the move is to improve housing availability.

What would you do if you were a councillor in a region that runs on tourism and needs its holiday houses and short term rentals?

Mayor, Mat Hatcher brings balance to the argument telling the Bay Post (May 12th 2023) that short-term rentals are “an essen al part of the economy on the South Coast.

"The money flow from the tourism sector is what keeps this place going every year, so we can't simply shut off the tourists from coming here," he said.

"We don't have enough hotels for the tourists who want to come here. We need short-term rentals and we need to look a er locals.

"We should not penalise a young family from Canberra who wanted to come down here and buy a holiday house and use it half the year and spend their money while they're down here."

If you have a solu on to the looming financial crisis and the housing crisis then be sure to write to the Council. Meanwhile we will con nue to flounder between a rock and a hard place. Un l next—lei

New Batemans Bay Marine Rescue vessel passes sea trial

A new 6.3 metre walk-through console Naiad (NYE-ADD) boat is closer to going into service at Marine Rescue Batemans Bay on the South Coast a er passing its sea trial.

The Batemans Bay 21 replacement vessel has been put through its paces by Marine Rescue NSW Senior Manager Fleet Kelvin Parkin at Yamba on the state’s north coast.

Parkin said the sea trial phase of a vessel’s construc on is an all-encompassing process to ensure that the finishes, specifica ons, systems, engines and sea capability meets Marine Rescue’s requirements.

BM 21 is a fantas c li le boat, really handled nicely, the crew will really enjoy it, its ergonomics are nice and performed very well on the water,” he said.

Mr Parkin said that BM 21 has been designed to be a mul -purpose vessel.

“It can really be very capable on enclosed inshore waters where we may have to help somebody out if they have run out of fuel or ba ery’s flat.

“Also if we need to do a search pa ern and run them inshore but also offshore.

“Quite comfortable to send them offshore up to about seven nau cal miles (13kms) where the crew can capably join in another search and conduct their own searches from these smaller vessels,” Mr Parkin said.

The vessel will be powered by twin 115hp outboard engines capable of reaching speeds of 38 knots.

Batemans Bay 21 also comes with a quick catch system on the trailer which Mr Parkin said makes launch and retrieval safer and easier for Marine Rescue volunteers.

“You drive the boat straight onto the trailer, it latches directly onto the trailer once you get into posi on and you drive away.

“It removes any chance of anybody ge ng their fingers in the way, you stay dry and you’re away into the carpark, secure the boat and you’re done,” he said.

Members from Marine Rescue Batemans Bay are set to undergo induc on and training on the new vessel in the coming weeks before the boat goes into ac ve service, replacing the exis ng BM 21 Cobia open RHIB boat.

Marine Rescue NSW Commissioner Alex Barrell said it’s important the service turns over its vessels regularly.

“This new vessel will really add to the capability of Batemans Bay.

“It’s great for the unit and for the volunteers and for the boa ng community in the local area that we've got this great new asset for that area,” Commissioner Barrell said.

BM 21 is one of 38 new rescue boats funded by the NSW Government’s $37.6 million investment in 2019 to support the vital, life-saving work of Marine Rescue NSW volunteers.

Marine Rescue NSW is a volunteer based not-for-profit professional organisa on dedicated to keeping boaters safe on the water and suppor ng local communi es.