Housing affordability
Mr WELLS (Rowville) (09:49): Despite what I have read in today’s paper, you can never trust Labor on taxes. That is why this statement condemns the government’s housing tax on new developments, which will see $20 000 added to the cost of median-priced homes in Melbourne. The government did not consult and has been forced to put the plan on hold while it provides modelling about what it will do to house prices. First home buyers and families making a start in the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne would bear the brunt of Labor’s newest tax. In Rowville sites like the Mirvac brickworks site will have this huge surcharge built into the price of a home. Before first home buyers see their $10 000 first home owners grant, the government will have clawed back double that amount from this tax. This is a kick in the guts for people shut out by Melbourne’s rocketing house prices.
Victoria has some of the highest property taxes in the nation. This tax would see Victoria pay more than 40 extra taxes and increased charges since Labor came to office. Social housing costs should not fall to the home owners who can least afford it. There are other ways to share the cost more widely. Billions of taxpayer dollars have disappeared in cost overruns on Labor’s big projects—$24 billion so far. Labor has put all its eggs into the infrastructure basket and is now scrambling to pay for the basics. How much social housing could have been paid for from these wasted billions of dollars?