Page 3591 - Week 10 - Wednesday, 18 September 2019
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
In her speech Ms Le Couteur referred to house and rent prices in Sydney and Melbourne. They are markets that simply cannot be compared to Canberra. The only true comparison is land and rent prices immediately over the border. The people we are losing are skipping over the border. They are buying houses at Googong and Murrumbateman. We are losing their land purchase price, we are losing their ongoing rates and we are losing their stamp duty—because of course it is still going gangbusters, the old stamp duty, is it not? But they are still using all our services. It is a pretty good deal, is it not? It is a pretty good deal.
There are some aspects of the Le Couteur amendment that we could have, on another day, lent support to, but the fact is that it hijacks the original motion and completely changes it. No, I am sorry—we are not there.
Visitor
MADAM SPEAKER: I recognise and welcome Mr Pratt, who has come back to the Assembly. Enjoy your time here, as we all do.
Rental affordability
MS BERRY (Ginninderra—Deputy Chief Minister, Minister for Education and Early Childhood Development, Minister for Housing and Suburban Development, Minister for the Prevention of Domestic and Family Violence, Minister for Sport and Recreation and Minister for Women) (5.11): I am glad to have the chance to speak to Ms Le Couteur’s amendment to Mr Coe’s motion today and the work being done by the ACT government to increase social and affordable housing in the ACT.
Last year I launched the ACT housing strategy, which sets out a plan for the government and the community to follow, providing more affordable long-term housing for Canberrans who need it. At the summit and throughout the consultations leading up to the strategy the government heard from people from across the housing and community sector and discussed the challenges that Canberra faced. They are not unique and are not just occurring in the ACT; they are also occurring in capital cities all across the country.
Canberra is a growing city, and more and more people are moving and staying here. On most measures, Canberra is one of the most affordable cities in Australia, but our higher than average incomes hide the challenges some people face in finding long-term affordable housing. This is where government action and the housing strategy come in. The strategy reflects an overarching vision which is reinforced by five strategic goals, from reducing homelessness to affordable ownership, covering the full housing spectrum.
In the year since I launched the strategy, I can report that the government has made good progress on its implementation. I look forward to providing a more detailed update about that soon. For now, I highlight some of the government’s key achievements in relation to social and affordable housing and outline why it is crucial that we continue to work together with the community to raise the bar, delivering
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video