Sydney is seeing many old apartment blocks being torn down and replaced by fewer, expensive luxury apartments. Allegra Spender, independent MP for Wentworth, which covers Bondi and Paddington, fears this will make people stop supporting new housing projects. She wrote to NSW housing minister Rose Jackson asking for quick action and is pushing local councils to adopt policies like the City of Sydney, which stops projects that cause big losses in homes. Spender said, "There is a real risk here of a loss of social licence. People are nervous about development at the best of times... This issue of reducing density and affordability makes people extremely cynical." The trend is strong in Wentworth, where developers buy old blocks and turn them into pricey luxury homes. Government rules let developers add about 30% more space if 15% of the homes are "affordable"—rented at 20% below market rates for 15 years. But Woollahra council recently opposed demolishing 27 affordable studio flats at 160 Oxford Street, Paddington, to build a $78 million, nine-storey luxury tower with 40 units. Only around a dozen would be "affordable," causing a net loss of 15–17 affordable units, the Paddington Society said. Woollahra mayor Sarah Dixson warned on Facebook about harm to the heritage area and the risk that NSW’s fast-track approval system might ignore local concerns. Developers want the state government, not the council, to approve the project. Woollahra council is gathering support to block this. In rich Sydney areas, affordable homes are being bulldozed for luxury blocks with a small part "affordable." But in reality, these cost about $1,000 a week for two bedrooms—far too expensive for workers. Spender said, "If you have two childcare workers on $65,000 each sharing a two-bedroom flat [and] the ‘affordable’ flat is $1,000 a week, they are spending almost 50% of their post-tax income just on rent." She called the current government’s definition of affordable housing "meaningless" for the eastern suburbs and wants it changed. NSW housing minister Rose Jackson has asked for a review of this definition and said, "We need definitions that deliver genuinely affordable homes for working people and families." Some councils like Woollahra and Randwick think about new rules limiting home losses, but Waverley council is against it. Tenant groups suggest making homes remain affordable longer and setting rents based on income, not market prices. The debate heats up as luxury developments rise but affordable homes shrink, putting pressure on Sydney’s workers and families.