Page 1641 - Week 06 - Thursday, 23 July 2020
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
everyone in the community. Whether that is in an urban area or within a greenfield suburb, building inclusive, affordable and sustainable communities is the foundation of responsible development.
In addition to the ACT government’s considered plan for affordable housing in the territory, Labor has cut stamp duty by tens of thousands of dollars to make owning a home more affordable. Between 4 June 2020 and 30 June 2021, there will be no stamp duty on single residential dwelling blocks and no stamp duty on off-the-plan or townhouse purchases up to $500,000. These savings are only available to owner occupiers. In addition, for off-the-plan purchases between $500,000 and $750,000 there is an $11,400 reduction in stamp duty available to owner occupiers. This initiative is part of Canberra’s recovery plan and, alongside helping home buyers, will generate more work for the local construction industry, encouraging growth in the residential property construction sector and creating more jobs.
Any family that has a mortgage or owns their home will see the value of that home reduced if the opposition gets its way and slashes the value of land. Those who purchased recently and do not have a lot of equity in their homes may find themselves in negative equity. The Liberals will also see the government abandon its considered indicative land release program, which ensures a sustainable pipeline of land release into the future. As at 20 July 2020, around 90 per cent of the single residential blocks publicly advertised are government owned blocks. There is a large supply of land available currently over the counter. The price is reviewed, as I said, independently and regularly. The government is confident that anyone meeting the eligibility criteria for HomeBuilder will find a diverse choice of product available here in the ACT to meet their needs.
I can provide an update to the Assembly on HomeBuilder applications, which are now at 56 here in the ACT, with 20 renovations and 36 new builds. In defence of our neighbours in Googong, I suspect that they do not think that they are living in exile. The “grass man” of Googong is an example of how proud they are of where they live.
MS LE COUTEUR (Murrumbidgee) (3.01): The Greens will not be supporting Mr Coe’s motion. It is based on bad policy and some fairly incorrect assumptions. We will be supporting the ALP amendment.
I have to comment on some of Mr Coe’s earlier comments that it was important that this generation have the same opportunities as previous generations. I agree 100 per cent with Mr Coe, in many ways, on this and I really wish that Mr Coe would take this one a bit more seriously. The biggest problem here is that current generations, new generations, should have the right to a stable environment in the way that people of my age did when we grew up. Mr Coe and the Liberal Party may be surprised to find that the situation is such that in other countries—and, I think, one young person in Australia—people are suing their relevant government, saying, “We do not have the environment to grow up in that you had.”
Climate change and other pollution means that generations to come, and young people now, simply do not have the opportunities that I have been privileged to have by virtue of being born in the 1950s. I think that is an incredible opportunity and I am
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video