Page 1869 - Week 05 - Thursday, 6 May 2010
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MS GALLAGHER: In relation to housing affordability, which is I think an issue that the opposition seek to hide behind as they defend significant amounts of revenue not coming to the ACT community for the variation on leases—
Mr Seselja: Don’t you care about homeowners, Katy?
MS GALLAGHER: This is what the opposition are hiding behind. To accept the proposition that the opposition are putting forward would imply that costs are being kept low because the change of use charge has been kept low, and I do not think that is something that we have seen.
We believe that the law, as passed by this place, setting out a process for collection of change of use charge, needs to be applied as intended—
Mr Seselja: I have a point of order, Mr Speaker.
MS GALLAGHER: and that involves extra revenue coming to the community.
MR SPEAKER: Order, Treasurer. Thank you.
Mr Seselja: My point of order is on relevance. The specific question was about the affordability of units. Again, the Treasurer is refusing to answer that question. What impact will this massive tax have on the affordability of units?
MR SPEAKER: Treasurer?
MS GALLAGHER: I have finished. I have answered the question.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary, Mr Smyth?
MR SMYTH: Yes, Mr Speaker; thank you. Treasurer, how does this massive increase in the tax collected assist the government in increasing the density of population in the city, as is their desired outcome under the policies?
MS GALLAGHER: We believe that the activity that we are seeing, and indeed the activity we need to see in terms of intensification of urban redevelopment, particularly in our inner areas, and the profit that is being made from those developments will continue to make them extremely attractive for developers.
Mr Seselja interjecting—
MS GALLAGHER: If some developers choose not to realise those development opportunities, Mr Seselja, I am very sure that other developers will. There is money to be made.
MR SPEAKER: A supplementary question, Mr Smyth?
MR SMYTH: Treasurer, do you have advice or a cost-benefit analysis or a business case that says that this policy, this change in the application that leads to such an
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