Late yesterday in the senate, the Greens got the Coalition across the line to support an inquiry into the capital gains tax discount (in exchange for the Greens support for an inquiry into productivity – no, the Coalition have not decided they are against the CGT discount) which is going to mean one of the biggest issues in housing affordability will be looked at for the first time in ages.
But both major parties are in lockstep in wanting to see house prices continue to rise, because now we are in a cycle where the moment you are in the housing market, you can not afford for house prices to drop, or you will be in massive financial trouble. HUZZAH. (There are ways around this by the way, but they all need government intervention)
Clare O’Neil was asked about the government’s 5% deposit scheme which has further increased house prices and said:
House prices are rising too fast in our country and this has been an issue for our nation for 40 years.
Now there is no question that over that 40‑year period it’s gotten much harder for our younger generation to get into home ownership, and I talk to lots of people who are, you know, in a couple, delaying having children because of their issues with housing; I talk to people who are in their 40s who would absolutely have owned their own home a generation ago who are now today not able to get that opportunity.
Now the housing crisis is a complicated thing. What I want people at home to know is you’ve got the most ambitious Australian Government on housing that our country has had since the post‑war period. We’re building more homes, we’re helping renters, and yes, we are getting more Australians into home ownership.
Now we do not shy away from that. Our 5 per cent deposit program has over the course of our government, over more than three and a half years, gotten 197,000 young people into their first home where they otherwise wouldn’t have that opportunity; they’re paying off their own mortgage rather than someone else’s, they’ve got safety and security.
Now it’s just one piece of what our government is doing, but I want people at home to know that we understand the pain that housing is causing families, and that’s why we are so busy and active on that issue.
1 Comment
So, the government's plan is to drive up house prices and make renting impossible for the most vulnerable people.
How can they build more houses? The last time I needed a tradesperson (bricklayer) it took three months to get them anywhere near my place to do the job. There just aren't the tradespeople for the job.
A better plan? Cut the CGT discount and buy up the houses when the investors depart. The government'll be able to buy them for a song: then put them into a "rent to buy" scheme.