Most of Darwin’s residents believe that the current defence housing project should not be located at Lee Point.
Relocating this project elsewhere can help address Darwin’s housing affordability crisis and will avoid a significant environmental impact at Lee Point.
Approximately 30% of the planned (740) houses at Lee Point are to be used by defence personnel with the remainder sold for home ownership or investment.
Defence Housing Australia (DHA), wholly owned by the Australian Taxpayer and currently represented by two federal ministers, is undertaking the project.
Problems with Lee Point as a location
Housing thousands of people at Lee Point will harm Darwin because it;
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- does not deliver any affordable housing
- increases traffic congestion, fuel costs/CO2 emissions,
- threatens endangered species, and
- significantly impacts on Darwin’s last wildlife corridor.
There is an urgent need to increase the supply of affordable homes in Darwin. The Australian Government’s Help to Buy scheme assists people in the low-medium income bracket to buy a house. To qualify for this scheme, a Darwin house price must not exceed $0.6M. Houses at Lee Point are typically valued at $0.8M.
The Lee Point defence housing project is highly unlikely to indirectly deliver any affordable housing in the broader Darwin community – for more detail, refer Independent Housing Report on Lee Point.
Government housing developers should be making efficient use of land, infrastructure and services, and house people near to jobs and public transport – the Lee Point defence housing project does none of these things.
Planning for Lee Point has further information.
Action needed
Relocation – Possible locations include Berrimah, Holtze or near the Stuart Highway (subject to an independent evaluation report). These locations are near defence bases (jobs) and transport, refer Fig 1.
Approved housing/infrastructure projects are currently underway at Berrimah (Northcrest) and Holtze. It is expected that houses for defence personnel could be built relatively quickly at either of these two locations.
Fig 1. Map showing Northcrest and Holtz Darwin (white dots) and Darwin’s last Wildlife Corridor (in green).
Rescoping – The relocated project could be rescoped to include affordable dwellings that are located near frequent public transport.
In terms of the existing Lee Point location (refer Fig 2), Stage 2 & 3 would be abandoned allowing the area to continue to naturally regenerate (with invasive weed control treatment).
The major investment to date in Stage 2 & 3 has been in a stormwater pipe stockpile – these pipes could be reused at a new location or sold off.
Timing – It is important that action is taken immediately to avoid further disruption to Darwin’s last wildlife corridor refer Fig 1, and Lee Point Biodiversity Corridor, refer Fig 2.
Fig 2. Map showing Lee Point peninsula. Stage 1 is near completion, Stage 2&3 is regenerating after bulldozing occurred in May 2024, future clearing has a red border.
Benefits from relocating and rescoping the Lee Point defence housing project
These benefits assume the new defence housing location will be at Berrimah, Holtze or a similar area near the Stuart Highway/Darwin defence bases:
- Cost of Living – Defence personnel will have reduced travel costs (up to 50% fuel savings). They will have greater access to public transport, be able to cycle to work and have less need for a second car.
- Affordable housing – It increases the supply of affordable homes and with the Australian Government’s “Help to Buy” scheme allow more people in low-medium income bracket to buy a home.
- Climate Change – CO2 emissions are reduced from less car travel and retaining old-growth forests.
- Community health and wellbeing – respects the Larrakia people’s wishes (traditional owners) to have the housing located elsewhere. Avoids a severe impact on people’s enjoyment of Lee Point and problems of biting insects and sewage odours at Lee Point. There is also no school near Lee Point.
- Traffic congestion – avoids increased traffic congestion due to more car use and expensive upgrades such as Vanderlin Drive roundabout and duplication of Lee Point Road.
- Tourism – does not compromise Lee Point’s significant eco-tourism potential.
- Savings for taxpayer – avoids the high infrastructure and services costs associated with an urban sprawl.
- Darwin’s biodiversity – avoids a significant environmental impact at Lee Point and a significant loss of old-growth trees in Darwin’s last wildlife corridor.
- Threatened species – avoids threatening endangered species at Lee Point.
- Community concern – addresses the concern about why Territorians are supporting high-cost infrastructure/housing at Lee Point when Darwin has a housing affordability crisis.
Evaluating other locations for the Lee Point defence housing project
In the 2022 Federal election, the successful Solomon candidate, Luke Gosling MP, said:
“If I am re-elected as the Member for Solomon, I will continue to encourage DHA to consider other locations, such as Berrimah and Palmerston, potentially reducing the development footprint on Lee Point.”
The majority of other candidates in the 2022 Federal election supported an independent evaluation of Lee Point defence housing project, refer:
NT Senate Candidate Survey 2022
With no progress and no available reports on other locations, an independent body needs to be urgently appointed to formally evaluate and report on the public benefit of having the defence housing project at other locations.