Mayor Darcy Byrne and the Labor-dominated Inner West Council have passed and begun implementing the "Fairer Future Plan". It aims to add more than 44,000 dwellings to the Inner West in two stages, more than double the state-mandated target.

All of these dwellings will be built by private developers for profit, and are estimated to sell on the market for an average of $1.5 million. The plan will worsen the Sydney housing crisis by demolishing low-cost rentals (termed "low-hanging fruit" by the council's commissioned report), and replacing them with luxury apartment complexes.

The problems with the Fairer Future Plan:

No public housing

Zero of the new apartments will public housing, despite evidence that building and maintaining public housing would help ease the affordability crisis. The Labor state government is simultaneously demolishing and privatising existing public housing stock in Waterloo and Glebe.

Poor community consultation

The Inner West community was not able to meaningfully engage with the plan before it was passed. The concerns of hundreds of community members were dismissed by the council.

Problematic affordability definition

Only 2% of the new housing will be classified as "affordable", rising to 5% after 5 years. The definition of "affordable" is still 80% of the market rental rate. The definition should be tied to income, not the over-inflated market. We demand a definition of 30% of income.

Eviction of renters

Renters in older, low cost houses will be hard hit, facing eviction as their buildings are sold to developers.

Young people and essential workers priced out

High land values mean more costly housing will be built when private sector developers build for profit.

Excessive scale and density

The plan allows for up to 10-storey high rises in some suburbs. The Inner West is already the 4th-densest council area in NSW. The council is adding 44,000 new dwellings without scaling up the area's amenities and transport.

Lack of new public fields and green spaces

No new playing fields, parks, libraries or swimming pools have been planned for potentially 90,000 new people living in the Inner West.

Debunking the myths:

"The Fairer Future Plan will help solve the issue of inadequate supply that drives the housing crisis":

• This is a bald-faced lie perpetuated by Labor and their developer mates. The housing crisis is not due to under-supply or a lack of construction.
• There were roughly 8000 empty homes in the Inner West alone according to the 2021 census.
• The Australia Institute reported in 2025 that the construction of new dwellings has outpaced population growth for the past ten years.
• Developers cannot always be trusted to deliver on promised builds anyway, despite receiving planning approval. The Daily Telegraph reported in February 2024 that “almost one billion dollars’ worth of housing in one of Sydney’s most affordable local government areas is yet to be built despite the DAs being approved up to five years ago”.
• The housing crisis is one of affordability - caused by the way developers, investors, banks and government treat housing as a profitable commodity. We can solve the housing crisis by implementing caps on rents and mortgage repayments, building more public housing and removing the tax incentives that turn housing into an investment.

"Opposing the Fairer Future Plan makes you a NIMBY ("not in my back yard")"

• Community opposition to the Fairer Future plan has been unfairly labelled "NIMBY-ism".
• We are not against all development. We are for development plans that meet the needs of the community and actually address the crisis.
• The council is choosing to let developers build shoddy, for-profit apartment blocks instead of public housing which could ease the housing crisis.

We will fight for:

• The maintenance and construction of new public housing units to deal with the housing crisis and growing homelessness in our state.
• Better affordable housing definitions and quotas, driven by community need not developer profits. Affordability defined as 30% of income.
• Updated infrastructure in the Inner West, including parking and public transport.
• Protect our natural environment and green spaces.
• A real democratic say for the Inner West community.

NSW Socialists - Inner West have been an active part of the Better Future Coalition, a community campaign opposing the Fairer Future Plan. We have helped organise rallies pushing back against the plan, and have spoken in council meetings to oppose it. As evictions and demolitions begin, we are committed to continuing the fight against this pro-developer plan.

See here Emma Norton from NSW Socialists at the Inner West Council’s forum, speaking on why the for-profit ‘Fairer Future’ development plan should be scrapped and replaced with a plan that will build genuinely affordable housing: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DO7_F5_EsaT/

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Many thanks to the residents and activists in the Better Future Coalition, Save Marrickville and Save Dully campaign groups for their meticulous information gathering, on which much of this page is based. You can find the Better Future Coalition's website here: https://betterfutureco.com.au/