Page 3156 - Week 11 - Tuesday, 9 November 2021
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small part of the developer community. These losses could easily have been avoided. As the Attorney-General is aware, in 2015 New South Wales addressed this issue and passed legislation to prevent unfair recissions of contracts.
In 2016 the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal had a civil dispute before it that reflected these very scenarios. At the time, the ACAT did not have the power to amend or provide some compensation to the purchaser because the law was not adequate. The ACAT said law reform should be considered—and this was from a decision on 31 October 2016!
So while I support and look forward to engaging with the government on the consumer protection measures that I anticipate are reflected in the government’s bill, as in mine, I am extremely disappointed that the inertia of the minister’s office, at the time and continuing into this term, has meant that purchasers have suffered these losses—it has been predominant in the media—which could have been avoided, despite the warning signals from across the border and within our own jurisdiction with this tribunal decision. I commend my bill to the Assembly.
Debate (on motion by Mr Gentleman) adjourned to the next sitting.
Housing—affordability
MR PARTON (Brindabella) (3.39): I move:
That this Assembly:
(1) notes that:
(a) the CoreLogic Quarterly Rental Review published on 26 October 2021 indicated the ACT has the highest median rental price in Australia, at $633 per week;
(b) SQM Research reports that, as of September 2021, the residential vacancy rate in the ACT was 0.8 percent, while other sources report it was less than this;
(c) steep increases in property prices are causing property owners to seek rental returns beyond the reach of average Canberrans; and
(d) escalating rent levels are making it almost impossible to find a place to live in Canberra;
(2) further notes:
(a) ACT property industry reports state the asking price for the majority of stand-alone houses is near, or over a million dollars;
(b) the difference between the median price for a unit and the median price of a detached house continues to increase;
(c) the ACT’s current housing prices threaten to deny an entire generation of aspirational homeowners from ever doing so;
(d) Canberrans are in such a state of desperation that in a recent Suburban Land Agency ballot for Taylor, 7484 people applied for a chance to secure 115 blocks of land, of which, only 17 were in the RZ1 Zone;
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