Page 169 - Week 01 - Wednesday, 23 February 1994
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to purchase the property that they have? There are also other suggestions that we could make, as a government, in helping people to get lower cost finance over a longer period. We could act as a safer fallback if there are problems, and so on. Is that not a benefit? Is that not socially just?
Mr Connolly: We do that. I will give you a briefing on our home ownership scheme.
MR STEVENSON: Mr Connolly mentions giving "a briefing on our home ownership scheme". The first question we need to ask is: How many people have bought homes under this scheme, percentagewise, compared to the number of homes there are? If it is very high and accelerating, one would say, "Commendable". But this Bill - - -
Mr Connolly: No; that was Homefund in New South Wales, where they encouraged people to buy houses that they could not afford, and they are all going bankrupt.
MR STEVENSON: That was a scam.
Mr Connolly: It was. Yes, it was a Liberal Party scam, Dennis.
MR STEVENSON: I do not differentiate between Labor Party scams and Liberal Party scams. What happened in New South Wales is that the standard of the properties increased in the communities that had been public housing communities with a bad name. No-one feels that it is now a problem to live in many of those suburbs in the western suburbs of Sydney, but once they were looked upon as being not a nice place in which to live.
Ms Follett: Where do you live, Dennis?
MR STEVENSON: I live in Canberra. In Sydney I lived in the western suburbs. I saw it happening. When my mother had a chance to buy the place, unfortunately we could not do it at the time. But I saw a lot of people who did. It would have been a wonderful situation, and it would have removed the need for the Housing Commission to look after those families. A lot of things come with owning your own property, or owning your own house, or owning a nice Valiant. I do not need another car. A lot of things accrue from that. I have a lot more affinity with it than if it were a government car. I look after it better.
Mr De Domenico: You are not going to paint it purple, though, are you?
MR STEVENSON: Actually, I am thinking of having a purple one. I will get a purple one if there are any purple Valiants around. Another question was raised, and it is a valid point to look at. Mrs Grassby said, "What about the possibility of these people being funded, and then on-selling to a developer?". It is a very important point. I do not think the Bill, which I am about to quote, covers it adequately. It talks about five years. I do not think that is long enough. Before they enter into the contract you say to them, "This is not a short time". Five years is a fairly short time. Look at the Assembly.
Mr Cornwell: You cannot sell it until five years have elapsed; otherwise you sell it back to the Housing Trust.
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