Page 4370 - Week 10 - Thursday, 22 September 2011

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Mr Hargreaves, Ms Hunter, Ms Le Couteur, Mr Seselja and Mr Smyth proposing that matters of public importance be submitted to the Assembly. In accordance with standing order 79, Mr Speaker has determined that the matter proposed by Ms Bresnan be submitted to the Assembly, namely:

Low income households in housing stress.

MS BRESNAN (Brindabella) (4.35): Last Monday Australia saw a new campaign established through the Australians for Affordable Housing coalition. The group is made up of over 60 housing, welfare and community sector organisations to address the issue of adequate affordable housing for people on low incomes.

In Australia more than 150,000 people in private rentals are paying more than half of their income in housing costs, even after receiving rent assistance. And in the last five years rents have risen at twice the rate of inflation.

The housing coalition has found the ACT to have the worst rates of housing stress for low income households in the nation. Fifty-three per cent of low income residents receive rent assistance because they pay more than 30 per cent of their income in rent. This rate is the highest in the nation, and higher than the national average of 42 per cent of low income households. As Shelter ACT has said, there is “no room in the boom”. As Canberra’s economy improves, prices rise and people on low incomes are impacted.

In regard to homeownership, the median house price in Canberra was 3.4 times the annual average income in 2001. Now it is 6.2 times the annual average income. The housing coalition notes that over the last decade house prices nationally have risen by 147 per cent but incomes have only risen by 57 per cent. House prices have risen faster than incomes for all household quintiles, apart from the top 20 per cent of income earners. And despite falls in interest rates, households are paying more in interest repayments that they were in the 1980s.

Difficulty in entering the housing market is a generational problem. Over the last 20 years the rates of homeownership for households under 35 years of age have declined steadily, and it may be that fewer households of this generation will have the financial security of homeownership into their retirement. Much of Australia’s social welfare spending, particularly in retirement, relies on homeownership to secure a decent standard of living.

A report issued by the housing coalition states:

There is no single cause of Australia’s housing affordability crisis. Rather, it is the result of a range of problems in the home ownership, private rental and public housing markets, all of which need to be tackled in a comprehensive and coordinated way.

The Australian tax system has a significant adverse impact on housing affordability in Australia. Tax breaks such as negative gearing and capital gains tax exemptions encourage investors to make speculative investments in the housing market. They also subsidise investors to compete with first home buyers. This activity pushes up house prices.


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