Page 4084 - Week 13 - Thursday, 6 December 2007
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release policy and that thousands of young Canberrans are missing out on their chance at the great Australian dream as a result.
This matter of public importance is a call to action for this government. We are sick of hearing about what they are doing; we want to see some results now. We do not want to see the spin about what they are doing. We do not want to hear about long-distant developments and land releases; we want to see some action now. We want to see improvements in the system. We want to see a more responsive system in the—
Mr Barr interjecting—
MR SESELJA: Mr Barr wants to talk about other things. He certainly would not want to talk about land release policy. He would not want to talk about it because he gets it wrong when he is asked about details when it comes to land release policies. He certainly would not want us to ponder the complete failure of this government in land release policy. He would not want us to ponder what a significant impact this policy failure has had on thousands of young Canberrans—thousands upon thousands of young Canberrans who simply want to get into the market.
People are not too fussy, unlike what the Chief Minister implies. The people I speak to will take virtually anything they can get into; they will come in at the absolute bottom of the market. But many of them cannot even afford to get into the bottom of the market—and if they can afford to get into the bottom of the market, they are lumped with a sizeable mortgage these days just for a fairly basic three-bedroom home in the outer suburbs of Canberra. This is not a flash new home; these are 20-year-old homes in places like Charnwood and Holt or places like 10 and 15-year-old homes in places like Banks and Gordon. These are not flash homes. Young first home buyers, in my experience, are not generally fussy. They are keen to get into the market. They are keen to enjoy what many of us do—have the ability to own our own home, have the security and often the long-term prosperity that goes with that.
There is a key part of the market that is suffering. There is a key part of the community that is suffering. It is a result of this government’s policies. There have been other factors, but they have not responded to them as quickly as they should have. As a result, the outcomes for young Canberrans in particular have been very severe.
MR STANHOPE (Ginninderra—Chief Minister, Treasurer, Minister for Business and Economic Development, Minister for Indigenous Affairs, Minister for the Environment, Water and Climate Change, Minister for the Arts) (4.05): I welcome this opportunity to discuss a subject that plays a crucial part in allowing the government to meet its economic, environmental and social goals. I regret, however, that those who have proposed making land release a matter of public importance today are, I fear, actuated not by a genuine desire to explore the issue but by a desire to simplify and distort.
Land release is part of the complicated equation that affects the affordability of the roofs over our heads; the sustainability, shape and structure of the city; the provision of services; and investment in infrastructure. The overall thrust and intentions for the
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