Page 235 - Week 03 - Tuesday, 30 May 1989
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manage the review on a full-time basis. He has already started work in this capacity and will be supported by a range of staff from throughout the Administration as required. Should it be necessary, the review will seek specialist advice to address particular issues as they arise.
I am confident that the review that we have started will help the Government achieve its objective of reform in the housing policy of the ACT. The Government has decided that a progress report should be prepared by August-September detailing the steps that have already been taken. The review should prepare a final progress report by December. Progress statements will be issued as the housing policy review proceeds. We do not wish to have a report written and put on the shelf and nothing done about it. In future I expect that we will have a continuing review of housing policy as the Government proceeds to finetune its housing policies.
MR STEFANIAK (3.28): I think it is very appropriate that the question of housing is discussed at this stage in the life of this Assembly because it is certainly a question that is causing a great deal of concern in the Canberra community. I welcome the review of the Minister for Housing and Urban Services, into which the Liberal Party has had some input. She has our policy and I have also given her the names of a number of people who may be able to assist in the inquiry. I certainly hope the inquiry will be not a cosmetic one but a real one and that it will come up with some sensible solutions to the problem in the ACT.
I want to deal with two points in this debate. Firstly, I will state the Liberal Party's position in relation to the question of housing in the ACT. In relation to private housing, we want to ensure an adequate supply of land for new housing at affordable prices. We want to encourage and facilitate alternative housing concepts such as aged persons units, dual occupancy and urban consolidation. We believe that this will better utilise existing resources and infrastructure and allow residents, particularly the aged, to remain in their areas. We wish to see deregulation of the real estate industry by providing for industry self-regulation, requiring the establishment of a fidelity guarantee fund and a tenants bond protection scheme. We wish to abolish stamp duty for first home buyers who comply with an income and assets test, thereby providing an incentive for people to own their own homes.
In relation to housing finance, we want to see made available concessional finance to those in genuine need; we would like to see a regular review of the levels of concessions provided and also the introduction of appropriate safeguards to prevent the inevitable abuse. We wish the Government to examine the possibility of selling, by tender, to a lending institution the operation of the Commissioner for Housing loans scheme. Concessions should
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