Page 459 - Week 02 - Wednesday, 19 February 2020
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effect now. That is another practical example of what the government has been able to do to put downward pressure on cost of living in this city.
We have also worked diligently to remove the stamp duty burden for first home buyers. Young people face barriers to entry into the housing market not just in this city but across the nation. But there is one government in this country that has been focused over a number of years on reducing the burden of stamp duty—one of the worst taxes levied in Australia, one that significantly impacts on people’s ability to get into the housing market. That is a practical and tangible benefit that is saving households not only thousands and thousands of dollars upfront but means that their mortgage repayments are less each week, each fortnight or each month because they are not paying interest on stamp duty.
On the other side of the equation is what government can do in terms of universal service provision, and that is why my amendment goes to highlight the importance of the provision of free public health, public education services for this community as well as the range of community service initiatives, programs and support available. We run an extensive concession scheme that assists low income households in the territory, and that scheme has been refined in recent times to further direct benefits particularly to low income rental households who previously were not receiving the same level of benefit from the utilities concession, for example.
We continue to invest in community-based health initiatives—nurse-led walk-in centres as an example—to provide free medical treatment to support Canberra families. The Deputy Chief Minister is leading work on the rollout of universal three-year-old preschool education. And there is the provision of Chromebook technology for students across our public school system to support them through their learning in a way that ensures that low income households do not miss out on access to that technology.
As I have noted, the commonwealth government’s Newstart allowance is a problem. It is not sufficient and is one of the lowest unemployment benefits in the developed world.
What we face this year is, of course, a choice, a choice around policy direction and a choice around how the government budget is used to support public services and public infrastructure and how we can best direct available resources both to assist low income households and also to invest in the public infrastructure that is necessary for a more equitable society. The amendment calls for the government to continue to invest in essential services and economic infrastructure whilst working with the community to effectively reduce cost of living expenses.
There are a number of measures that the government has announced and that the government has delivered over this parliamentary term and, indeed, prior to this term of government. And there are more initiatives we can put into place, which we will, to respond to circumstances in the first part of the decade ahead. The amendment that I have moved reflects the work that the government has undertaken, acknowledges that there are challenges ahead but also goes to focus on the work that the government has undertaken in order to address those specific challenges.
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