Page 1876 - Week 09 - Thursday, 19 October 1989
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I believe that the ACT already has a good record in many of these areas but further development is required, particularly in broadening the range of choice available. I would urge the Minister to ensure that these matters are addressed by the housing policy review.
I understand that the legislation is being drafted and the principles of the new CSHA will be incorporated into the ACT Housing Assistance Act to further emphasise the need to observe them in delivering housing assistance to those in need in the ACT community.
In summary, I believe that the formal participation in the CSHA will be of great benefit to the ACT and that it will offer significant advantages and challenges to the public, private and community sectors. It is a further demonstration of the benefits of self-government.
Mr Speaker, while I have been so far concentrating on public housing issues, I must also acknowledge that the Minister has announced a substantial range of other measures to assist those seeking homes in the private sector. The safety net scheme of mortgage relief which has been designed by the ACT Government to suit the circumstances of people in trouble in Canberra is welcome. I am aware that the ACT scheme was one of the first announced.
I believe that the stamp duty exemption has the right features. We are directing the exemption to those first home buyers most in need of assistance. There was a proposal to introduce deferral concessions on stamp duty for first home buyers. Not only would such a scheme be administratively cumbersome but it would only be of marginal assistance. These are the reasons why the Government rejected this proposal and adopted the superior method we have announced. I congratulate the Minister on the progress that has been made in the review and I look forward to further improvement in the housing policy.
MR COLLAERY (12.11): I resolved this week not to speak first but it seems that I do not even speak second, third or fourth any more. It is just the slide of things.
The Rally has had a long interest in public housing; it developed policies on that issue almost at the same time as it developed policies on planning. Therefore, I take with good humour Mr Stefaniak's claims to have stumbled upon stamp duty exemptions first. I add that I think the speeches here today reveal a good deal of bipartisanship on the subject of public housing. There do not appear to be any ideological differences to confound the proper development of policy in the ACT. That is very, very welcome.
I come from New South Wales where I recall the housing commission having a lot of problems at the time with the
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