Page 410 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 10 February 2021
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meaning home ownership is becoming more out of reach. I am not even going to mention Jon Stanhope, just because you are sick of it—you are sick of me mentioning him.
As a result, more people are renting, and renting is getting so expensive. Once a place where you could live relatively comfortably, renting in Canberra is becoming a nightmare. If you are in a situation where you need social housing here in the ACT under Labor and the Greens, buckle up and be prepared to wait for a long, long time.
I came into this place today armed with what I think and what people in the sector believe, and certainly what people who are trying to get onto the merry-go-round believe, are genuine policy solutions. All I am doing is asking that those on the other side investigate. This is not a bill; this is a motion. We are just asking for some genuine investigation and consideration.
Much of what I am calling on the government to investigate and adopt is aimed at increasing the supply of more affordable rental properties provided by community housing providers, of which we have many operating here in Canberra. They do a great job. But what the Canberra Liberals are pushing for here is for those providers to be empowered to do even more and to provide more affordable accommodation for people who need it.
Separately from working with the community housing providers, there are two things the government, I think, needs to do immediately. The first is to seriously reassess the current land release regime to see whether supply is meeting demand and, if it is not—and certainly a lot of the telltale signs are that it is not—work out a way to make sure that it does. I note that this has been addressed in some of the forthcoming amendments.
The second is to investigate putting in place a land tax regime like the one over the border in New South Wales, where the tax is only paid on property over a certain amount. The threshold at the moment in New South Wales is, I believe, $750,000. A land tax threshold would come at a cost to the budget, yes. Of course it would. But it would also reduce the burden on mum and dad property investors, thereby reducing the burden on their tenants and bringing more of those investors back to the market. I think it is something the government should investigate.
When it comes to community housing providers, there is a range of reforms that we are proposing the government just investigate and consider. First, shared equity arrangements broader than the ones that are outlined in Ms Berry’s forthcoming amendment—this is a situation where the ACT government would provide land for community housing providers to build new social housing. The government maintains its stake in the dwelling, and that equity is only released when the CHP sells the property. The CHP keeps all the rent, the government waives its claim based on its equity stake. The idea is that a passive investment portfolio is developed for the government and they retain any capital growth in their share of the asset. It makes a lot of sense.
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