PODCAST: Halfway through her second term as Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney Jess Miller, who will take to the stage at our next Big Debate, Carbon Triggers, has wasted no time in tackling the glaring problems that annoy her and many others.
Among them are the “lazy” or empty spaces in many of the city’s commercial buildings, the housing that’s given over to short term/Airbnb style accommodation and the loss of places for arts and creative work.
Miller brings a fresh no-nonsense approach to her rising social media following. For instance there are likely 5000 homes removed from the market for Airbnb she says as she tramps through the streets with ministers showing entire rows of houses, each with their “key locks” for visitors to let themselves in.
You can rent a flat in Sirius for $1500 a night, she says. That’s the former social housing apartment block at Millers Point that ignited a storm of protest to prevent its gentrification.
The City has very few levers to pull to change the situation, she says; the state and federal governments could do so much more but, they don’t.
Another campaign is the closure of creative spaces such as the Divine Theatre because of its queer focused events, with the landlord calling on antiquated planning laws from 1890s England, enacted to prevent offensive uses such as abattoirs.
Tax is a powerful stick, but there’s the planning carrot too
Miller also tackles the nerdier topics of taxation and policy regimes that give rise to the lazy spaces in the city.
Shops are left empty or part empty in areas such as Glebe Point Road because landlords refuse to accept the lower rents on offer. This would mean lower capital values and prompt banks to withdraw or reduce funding that might be leveraged for other investments, she says.
Changing the tax regime would be a “stick” approach. But the City is also considering offering higher densities to stimulate more productive movement – such as lifting height limits to six or seven storeys.
Town Hall Square
On the issue of the new Town Hall Square that the City is launching across the road from its headquarters Miller takes a pragmatic approach.
The work requires several buildings to be demolished including the popular Woolworths store, which has stimulated an organised campaign of opposition.
But Miller points out that the City bought the buildings over decades as part of its plan to eventually undertake the project. Besides, the buildings are now in need of a massive injection of funds to bring them up to useable standards, she says.
Green is on the nose
But it’s her views on sustainability and the mood for green that she’s picked up in the community that knocked us for six. It’s not good.
Her advice is to stop talking about it. It’s cost of living that reigns.
“I think that sustainability at the moment is a luxury that very few people can afford to care about. Unfortunately, I think that everyone’s sick of hearing about it.”
It was easier when net zero was “far off in the distance”. But now that people recognise that trade offs are involved it’s another matter.
People are already under a “considerable amount of stress and anxiety, I think it’s something that they really struggle to prioritise at the moment.
“If the task at hand is to pay rent, feed your family, and find the money to get your kid to the doctor, who gives a sh*t about climate change? It’s so far beyond your immediate pressure.
“So I think I think that’s what we really need to be sensitive to and think about is how climate action aligns to those more conservative values, because I do think that they are aligned, but we just don’t do a very good job of doing it.
“We might be a bit too judgy about people with conservative values.”
Listen to the podcast or watch on Youtube
