Why this single photo of an Australian suburb has sparked a huge debate about the future of our country

An aerial photo capturing a suburb with thousands of densely packed standalone homes has sparked a debate about the future of housing in Australia.

Located approximately 40km west of Sydney’s CBD near Quakers Hill, The Ponds suburb was established in 2007 and was previously farmland.

Today, The Ponds is home to 4,500 dwellings and an estimated population of around 12,000 residents.

However, Australians have criticised the suburb’s density after an aerial picture circulated on social media, prompting thousands to weigh in.

‘Each one of these is worth at least $1.2 million, 45KM from the Sydney CBD.

‘How the hell does this get approved? And look at those dark roofs.

‘Just wait until the kids grow up and each house has three to four cars that need street parking.’ 

Some shared concerns about the lack of privacy due to the proximity of the houses.

‘That looks awful. Packed in like sardines.’

‘If you sneeze out a side window, your neighbour will catch your cold. This picture makes me feel claustrophobic just looking at it.’

‘No backyards. No trees. Just greyness. How bloody depressing.’

‘To me living like that would be hell on earth.’ 

Some pointed out that the design raised safety concerns for residents, especially in the event of a house fire.

‘How is that even safe? If one catches fire, they are all at risk. I’d rather live in a tent in a bush than one of these McBoxes.’

‘One home catches fire, and the entire row burns down. Great design.’

‘It’s going to be as hot as hell in summer, and it’s going to be reliant on air conditioning. It’s very poorly designed.’

Others said high immigration to Sydney fueled the need for such high-density housing.

‘Govt is making it easier by opening the floodgates to massive immigration!’

‘This sad, depressing picture has no place in Australia where greed has crippled potential homeowners because migration has been encouraged to unsustainable levels.’

Before the development of The Ponds suburb in 2007, the area was characterised by little red brick homes with huge sections and farms.

One of those homes remains today — a five-acre property in the heart of the suburb owned by the defiant Zammit family, who refused to sell despite receiving lucrative offers.

The land is worth $40 million-plus to local developers Bathla, who could build 40 new $1 million homes in the space.

Developers are believed to have offered the family multi-millions of dollars to hand the land over so construction work on the estate can finally be completed.

‘Every home was unique, and there was so much space – but not any more. It’s just not the same,’ Diane Zammit, earlier told Daily Mail Australia.

The median price for a home in The Ponds over the last 12 months stands at $1.5 million, according to data from realestate.com.au.