State MP Kate Washington said that desperate families in Port Stephens were languishing in poverty and some were becoming homeless because there's just no affordable housing available.

"Right now in Port Stephens we have families living in their cars, in tents, they're couch surfing, they're in total despair. Yet we now learn that zero properties will be built in Port Stephens under the government's $183 million social housing support package announced two months ago."

A spokesperson for the Department of Planning, Industry and Environment said that the government was constantly reviewing its portfolio of 125,000 social housing properties through the NSW Land and Housing Corporation (LAHC) to identify opportunities where they can build more homes for people in need.

"LAHC is currently planning or constructing more than 300 social homes from the Central Coast to the Tweed," the spokesperson said.

"The NSW Aboriginal Housing Office is investing in the Port Stephens area to upgrade 12 social homes and the AHO is developing a large new five-bedroom family home in Raymond Terrace under the Industry Partnerships Project."

ALSO READ: Need for more social housing in Port Stephens as demand skyrockets

The spokesperson said that the LAHC and the AHO were not the only two providers of housing in NSW and that it would always consider proposals to work in collaboration with councils and community housing providers to increase social and affordable housing in areas of need.

Ms Washington said that she had written to the minister [Melinda Pavey] to highlight the dire state of social housing in Port Stephens.

"This news comes after the government allocated a measly $67,000 in this year's budget to maintain all social housing properties across the Port Stephens electorate," Ms Washington said.

"In the meantime housing prices and rentals have gone through the roof due to COVID, with people escaping Sydney and buying up houses and rental stock. The local housing crisis will only be compounded by the influx of tourists over the holiday period, with income from holiday rentals prioritised over long term rentals.

"Year after year, our social housing waiting list in Port Stephens continues to grow.

"Just a few short weeks ago, the government made a big song and dance about social housing and promised the world, but there was nothing in it for Port Stephens.

"It's an insult to see $183 million being announced by this government, but not a single cent is making its way to Port Stephens."

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