Page 945 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 25 February 2009
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Mr Speaker, yes, the situation is, of course, frustrating for all of us—most particularly for those 40 Canberra families with land rent blocks on hold, families for whom land rent represents, perhaps almost certainly, the only way they can achieve a home of their own. It is a hope and a dream that they have, and it is a hope and a dream that we in the government hope that we can keep alive, a dream which the Liberal Party believes should simply be squashed.
I guess this is the great divide. The Labor Party wants to work with Canberrans who continue to dream a dream that was previously unavailable to them. The Liberal Party’s approach and attitude is to squash the dream—patronise young working Canberra families and squash the dream. We will work with those families, we will continue to support them and, at the end of the day, I am hopeful that we will work with them to achieve the dream that each of us has—a dream that the Liberal Party believes that people who earn less than $75,000 should not dare to have and for whom the Liberal Party does not have a response or an answer. Its response is to say: “Look, there’s a bit of political mileage to be made in this. Let’s just squash it. Let’s play politics with it. Let’s do everything we can to ensure that those people earning less than $75,000 are kept where the Liberal Party believes they should be kept.”
While the delays are, of course, frustrating, the majority of those people with blocks on hold have not, as alleged, suffered financial loss due to their involvement. They have not had to pay a deposit on the land, stamp duty has not been paid yet and, for those who are eligible for stamp duty concessions, full duty will not be required. It would be stunning to think that those that access this scheme would not be eligible for all of the concessions that apply. It would be remarkable—
Mr Seselja: $5,000—that’s reasonable?
MR STANHOPE: Well, it would be remarkable if anybody accessing this scheme pays $5,000 in stamp duty. I would be amazed to find that. But for all those 40 families with blocks on hold or who are waiting to access the land rent scheme, the current delays are frustrating. We do not deny that. They are frustrating for the government. That is why the government will not turn its back on the land rent scheme. That is why we will not give up. That is why we will continue to work diligently in discussions with financial lenders. We will continue to support the land rent scheme, even at a time when global market conditions make the work difficult, because we are conscious of the frustration of those Canberrans who are eagerly waiting to access the land rent scheme, and we do want to minimise any delays.
That is why we do not, of course, support the opposition’s motion. We are not prepared to just give up. We do not wobble like they do. When the going gets tough, we get on with the job. We do not do what the Liberal Party does—turn tail and run; run away from the hard decisions and run away from the hard issues. At its heart, of course, as we all know, the Liberal Party has no brief for young working families. It does not care about them. It does not care to support them through a land rent scheme, an innovative way of ensuring that young Canberra families, young working Canberra families that battle, have this option and choice. And that is—
Opposition members interjecting—
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