Spokesperson Kerry Pearse said solutions had to come from communities, as governments were not responding to the crisis.

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“We need to work together – all levels of government, business, residents, and community groups”, she said.

Keynote speaker, financial journalist Alan Kohler, drew a direct line between the local crisis and national policy failures.

He said the Government “has gotten out of the business of providing housing” in reference to the ever-dwindling supply of public accommodation.

Ms Pearse presented statistics showing Bellingen housing was unaffordable to rent or buy for most key workers. This is despite figures showing that in a council area of 13,231 people, 45.5 percent own their own home outright, compared to the Regional NSW median of 36.3 percent.

Indigenous residents were worse off, she said.

Despite being Australia’s original landholders, the rate of home ownership in the town is just 28 percent, way below the rest of the community.

Ms Pearse also cited impacts on services, such as Dorrigo and Bellingen hospitals having difficulty recruiting and keeping staff at the risk of hospital beds being lost.

“The town is in danger of becoming a community of just wealthy people,” she said.

Since they formed in 2017, Housing Matters has worked closely with council and community to develop real local solutions.

“We ran independent consultations and prepared a comprehensive submission for the Bellingen Shire Housing Strategy; a plan that guides housing development in the Shire for 20 years.

“We were very pleased with the end result because it incorporated 99 percent of our submission.”

The organisation is now seeing the results of this collaboration.

A landmark housing development providing 23 affordable apartments for older single women at risk of homelessness, is just weeks off completion.

This was made possible through the donation of land by RFBI, support from Bellingen Shire Council, and $10 million in construction funding from state and federal governments.

Another project underway is the establishment of the Waterfall Way Community Land Trust (CLT), a housing model that will enable Bellingen residents on local wages to enter affordable home ownership.

Not surprisingly, the upcoming council election meant there was a marked attendance by candidates and current councillors, including incumbent Mayor Stephen Allan who is strongly committed to the strategy.

“In this term of council some of the action points of the strategy have been progressed,” he said.

“This has resulted in the Watson Place development about to go-ahead.”

While the Waterfall Way project is still in the early stages, he said he would work with the CLT to identify land, if re-elected.

By Leigh WATSON