Page 1640 - Week 06 - Thursday, 23 July 2020
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sites made up of hundreds of townhouses and apartments currently for sale—most priced under the HomeBuilder threshold. All of these would qualify for the Homebuilder scheme if the construction commenced within the three-month time window. Off-the-plan product also qualifies for the ACT government’s stamp duty waiver or reduction.
HomeBuilder is not a program designed for families looking to upgrade, investors or affluent buyers. The income limits are similar to the ACT government’s own affordable home purchase program. This program targets this cohort. However, unlike the federal government, which has rolled out one-off grants, the ACT government has its own affordable housing so that families on low incomes can build equity and break the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage. There are currently 24 properties available to eligible buyers under the affordable purchase scheme in both Taylor and Wright, and over the next six months more affordable purchase schemes will be developed in Coombs, Gungahlin and Taylor and will be constructed—
Mrs Dunne: Taylor is at $1,000 a square metre; tiny blocks there.
MS BERRY: That is not true, Mrs Dunne, and you know it. In total, another 85 dwellings will become available. The ACT housing strategy sets out the ACT government’s vision for affordable community and public housing. It articulates the government’s agenda for making housing affordable for everyone. The strategy’s objectives ensure that there is an equitable, diverse and sustainable supply of housing for the ACT community.
The opposition has tried to put a motion to the Assembly today to suggest that there is a lack of affordable land in Canberra. Land available from the ACT government is priced competitively. It is priced according to independent market evaluation. This ensures transparency and probity when selling public land. By law, the government is required to sell land at its market value. The Suburban Land Agency itself reviews pricing for land regularly to ensure that it is priced within current market expectations. Leading into the current economic circumstances as a result of COVID, I asked the Suburban Land Agency to revalue stock, to make sure that it was priced appropriately, and I will have more to say on this soon.
It is also important to acknowledge that when the government sells land, it needs to sell it at a price that accounts for the cost of developing new suburbs. The government does not sell land to line its pockets, as Mr Coe has quite outrageously suggested in the past; revenue from the government is used to fund infrastructure and services for Canberrans. It helps provide for excellent schools, hospitals, roads and public transport that every single one of us benefits from.
The Suburban Land Agency also prices land reserved for affordable housing, consistent with the government’s agenda to release the land to a means-tested cohort of buyers. This housing choice allows for families to build in our newer suburbs, but it does not make sense for everyone to be building a mansion in the suburbs. It is not everybody’s dream. That is why the ACT government ensures that it is committed, and continues to be committed, to providing housing choice and affordable options for
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