NSW voters head to the polls in March, with the housing crisis likely to once again be a defining issue, particularly with younger people.
One of the battlegrounds for new housing is Sydney's eastern suburbs, with the two major parties proposing competing ideas for how to open up the area for more residents.
The coalition on Wednesday announced its plan to close the Long Bay Correctional Facility and build more than 12,000 homes on the 50 hectare site should they win government.
The jail, originally built in 1909, is on land owned by the NSW government in a prime coastal location in Sydney's southeast, and the opposition leader says the prisoners should be turfed out.
"Why should prisoners have a coastal home, when this land could be made available for more affordable homes, close to the city?" Kellie Sloane said.
Nearly a third of the homes proposed for the site would be set aside for affordable and social housing, the opposition says.
In order to accommodate removing the site's 1200-bed capacity, Ms Sloane said other correctional facilities should be upgraded, including the even older Goulburn jail.
But the government says the Long Bay plan is a non-starter and is standing by its plans to build more homes in the city's east based around a new train station.
NSW Labor is proposing a new rail stop at Woollahra, in Ms Sloane's electorate of Vaucluse, to build 9400 homes in the surrounding area.
Housing has been a central issue for NSW voters for years and with the state still significantly behind on its national targets, election promises to ease the pressure are taking centre-stage.
In 2025, Ms Sloane's predecessor Mark Speakman declared the Liberal Party "unashamedly YIMBY" in a bipartisan effort to speed up planning approvals.
But Ms Sloane has been more selective in her enthusiasm for government plans to build taller buildings in urban areas.
"With public exhibition of the Edgecliff and Woollahra rezoning proposal closing on Friday, the Liberal Leader should be upfront about her position," Planning Minister Paul Scully said.
The government is hoping its efforts to rezone more than 70 areas in the state, focusing largely on transport hubs, will be enough to convince voters they have the answer to the housing crisis.
The Greens state more public and social housing, including affordable targets for state and local government, is a key priority for the party, according to their website.
One Nation NSW was contacted for comment on its housing policy.
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