One option touted by Ms Spiller is the potential use of council holiday park cabins and powered sites as temporary short term accommodation, particularly in low seasons.

"Many of our cabins and vehicle/caravan sites are left vacant for long periods and could be used in a crisis on a temporary basis," she said.

Last week the Examiner published an article on the 'housing pressure' crisis, where a lack of rental properties and affordable housing had forced hundreds of Port Stephens families to turn to support services in the last financial year.

The report also stated that the demand for social housing could not be met here in Port Stephens.

In light of a pressing need for more affordable housing and in the lead-up to the local government elections, Ms Spiller, a community worker and small business operator from Lemon Tree Passage, has called for an overview of the council's Local Housing Strategy (LHS).

"With factors like house purchasing prices skyrocketing and former rentals being removed from the market for holiday letting, more renters are finding housing difficult to find and afford," she said.

"So I am advocating for a Port Stephens Homelessness and Affordable Housing Strategy as a framework to guide goals and actions for addressing this worsening community issue.

"If elected to council, I will pursue a strategy that complements and builds on council's existing LHS."

Another possible option put forward by the Greens candidate would be for council to look into development consents to allow for a percentage of new developments (such as over 55 villages) to comprise affordable housing.

"Port Stephens is not immune to the widespread affordable housing and homelessness crisis that is spreading across the nation and I believe these issues should remain a responsibility for the local council and not just to the state," Ms Spiller said.

"In other areas local councils have purchased blocks of land to build affordable housing or purchased developments such as motels and used them for short term crisis accommodation. By partnering with the state, this is something that can be investigated right here in Port Stephens."

Other options put forward by Ms Spiller include introducing an Affordable Housing Contribution Scheme (SEPP 70 - built into the council LEP), which requires developers to contribute to council's affordable housing strategy; and introducing incentives for owners of vacant properties and holiday lettings to increase the number of permanent housing rentals.

In November 2020, it was estimated there were more than 200 households on the social housing waiting list for Port Stephens and in June 2020 the wait time for state public housing in Port Stephens was more than 10 years (for three out of four house sizes) for 165 individuals or families.

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