Page 1757 - Week 06 - Thursday, 30 July 2020
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homelessness problem and that we have so many people that are doing it tough. It is no wonder that we have overcrowded apartments and houses with people trying to split the rent.
The government’s land supply, planning system and tax regime has stifled the supply of new homes in the territory to a point where if it was not for the Queanbeyan council and the products being delivered over the border, there would be almost nothing available in our region that could be regarded as affordable.
Anglicare recently put out their rental affordability snapshot. On the weekend of 21 March the snapshot showed 1,201 private rentals were advertised in the ACT and Queanbeyan region. Only 78 of those 1,200 properties were affordable, and of those none were affordable for a couple with two children, a single person with a couple of kids or a single person with either a young child or an older child. If you are single, aged over 21 and on the disability support pension, there are no options regarded as being affordable in the territory.
This is Labor’s legacy. This is what you get after 19 years of Labor—the most disadvantaged in our community, those who struggle the most, are worse off now than ever before. It has never been worse than what it is right now for people looking for houses. The sum of $575 a week for an average home is an extraordinary amount of money.
We hear of all sorts of issues with the planning system. Nobody knows where they stand. The lack of certainty, the lack of confidence, the special deals, the sweetheart deals done by this government have all led to the exacerbation of this situation. We also know that rates and land taxes are bringing in a huge amount of money and that is coming from Canberra households.
The average rates bill with levies was $1,300. Now, after the tax reform, it is almost $3,000 and increasing rapidly. Tenants ultimately pay the rates increases. They also pay for the delays in the planning system and the lack of dwellings, and all these things drive up the cost of rent in the territory.
Land tax on residential properties in 2011-12 was $63 million. In 2021-22 it will be up to $164 million. Land tax per rental residence will be more than $3,000, on average. This is what you get after 19 years of Labor.
This tax regime that is meant to be simpler and fairer is driving up the cost of living right across the territory. Stamp duty that was abolished in 2011-12, when it brought in $239 million, is estimated to bring in $283 million in 2021-22, according to the Treasurer’s update.
One of the key problems in the territory is the profiteering this government has done with regard to land in the territory. The government’s abuse of its land release monopoly underpins the government’s gross profit margins on suburban residential land development, a gross profit margin of 78.7 per cent. I have chatted with some private land developers and they reckon 15 to 20 per cent means that they are doing pretty well and that that is pretty profitable. Meanwhile, the ACT government is bringing 78.7 per cent. It was 44 per cent in 2012 and it has gone up and up since.
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