Page 4089 - Week 13 - Thursday, 6 December 2007
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annual trend rise of 3.5 per cent. In the ACT, the housing finance commitments for owner occupiers rose by 20.9 per cent in the September quarter, against the national 3.5 per cent. The trend number of ACT residential building approvals grew by 1.8 per cent over the year to September compared to the previous 12 months.
The government nevertheless recognises that for some people it is difficult to buy or rent a house in the ACT. There is no denying that. For some there is significant stress. It is for that reason that the government released the affordable housing action plan. The affordable housing action plan is a comprehensive and wide-reaching plan to address housing affordability in the ACT and help Canberrans at all points on the accommodation spectrum, from home buyers and private renters to public and community housing.
Some of the initiatives are increasing the supply of affordable land to the market; regular englobo land sales; over-the-counter sales of affordable housing blocks; streamlining land release and planning approval systems; providing new house and land packages; a major expansion of community housing; making more effective and targeted use of public housing; an initiative through institutional investors to increase the supply of private rental dwellings; ensuring the supply of sufficient land to meet increasing demand; land rent and shared equity schemes; and targeted stamp duty concessions.
I mentioned the land release action. The government is currently successfully implementing key actions in the action plan, including the adoption by ACTPLA of the planning guideline on compact block housing for new estates; expanded eligibility criteria for the homebuyer concession scheme; conveyance duty deferral through the Revenue Legislation (Housing Affordability Initiatives) Amendment Act; expansion of Community Housing Canberra, and a new chair in Ross Barrett; and more effective and targeted public housing programs to ensure that top-priority applicants are housed within three months.
We backed up those initiatives with substantial resources in the 2007-08 budget. There is $375,000 to coordinate and implement the plan; $300,000 to ACTPLA for detailed planning for future land release; $20,000 for a new annual award to recognise excellence in sustainability; reduced stamp duties for first home buyers; deferral of stamp duty for eligible purchasers; the provision of $4.3 million to Housing ACT; and additional allocations to justice.
It is understandable that people are keen to immediately obtain the new affordable housing land packages and other products, but it is not a quick fix; it is something we will achieve over time. (Time expired.)
MR SMYTH (Brindabella) (4.20): I thank Mr Seselja for putting this MPI on land release on the agenda so that we can have a discussion about what is happening in the ACT. It is a shame that the Chief Minister has missed the whole point. It is about land release; it is about supply.
There was a housing affordability industry briefing in August this year, following the release of the UDIA state reports on housing affordability, that brought together
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