Page 1984 - Week 07 - Thursday, 13 August 2020
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In addition, there is no support from the federal government to build more social housing and no commitments from the rest of the country. We cannot do it on our own, but we are lifting way above our weight here in the ACT. There is more to do, and the ACT government will continue to support people in our community who need that support most. We will continue to maintain the highest per capita public housing investment in the country—$1 billion. If the rest of the country contributed the same there would be a $6 billion investment in social housing, and that would make a difference.
MR GUPTA (Yerrabi) (4.01): It has been said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Given this, I have to wonder why Mr Coe is moving the same motion he has moved for the past two weeks. I suggest that he instead consider releasing his fabled land release policy, but that would require the Liberals to have a coherent policy platform.
I share Mr Coe’s belief that Canberrans should be able to access housing. However, to claim that it is simply an issue of not releasing enough land is laughable. As of 10 August there are 314 blocks available for purchase over the counter from the Suburban Land Agency. There is clearly land available, and residential dwelling construction in the ACT is performing strongly, as the Commonwealth Bank’s State of the States report told us less than a month ago.
Mr Coe has been pushing for the government to release land and has said that a Liberal government will do so if they are elected. Since he will not release a policy, we can only assume that the Liberals plan to bulldoze Kowen Forest, which runs oddly counter to their commitment to plant a million new trees in Canberra. I also wonder what thought Mr Coe and his colleagues have given to urban planning. Canberra is known for its sprawl, and we cannot continue to expand outwards indefinitely. Calling to release more land with no thought is not helpful and will not address any of Mr Coe’s concerns.
Mr Coe also states that land and house prices are rising. That is true; properties that are close to amenities and services tend to have a higher value than those that are not. However, since the Liberals do not believe in providing the funding to ensure good government services, I do not expect Mr Coe to understand the connection between access and value. Mr Coe’s motion suggests that the government should intervene to reduce land prices. Should we also intervene to reduce the property values of Canberrans who already own their homes? I will admit that I am a little surprised; I was under the impression that a key tenet of the Liberals’ philosophy is reducing government intervention in the market.
Rather than artificially reducing land values, the government has reduced stamp duty on new land to zero. The stamp duty on off-the-plan apartments and townhouses valued up to $500,000 has also been reduced to zero. There is also an $11,400 reduction to stamp duty available for off-the-plan townhouses and apartments valued between $500,000 and $750,000. This is designed as a relief measure for new home buyers, as well as stimulus for the construction industry. Once again, I wonder why Mr Coe wants land values to go down when the country is in recession and is forecast to stay that way for some time. Finally, I note Mr Coe’s concerns about the burden on public housing. I agree; it is something we need more of. That is why the ACT
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