Thursday, 19 June 2025

Housing

Ellen SANDELL (Melbourne) (09:56): The Victorian Labor government is giving huge tax discounts – handouts – to the ultrawealthy to buy luxury penthouse apartments. Let me explain: about a year ago the property development lobby came to Labor and said, ‘We’re having a bit of a hard time selling our off-the-plan new apartments, so could you cut us a break by giving people stamp duty concessions when they buy new apartments?’ Labor said yes, but they made it uncapped. They sold it to the public as a way for affordable housing to be built, for young people to get into the market. But the thing is the evidence is now in, and actually most – the majority – of these tax discounts and handouts are going to the ultrawealthy to buy very, very expensive multimillion-dollar apartments.

Take the example of an apartment in Armadale, a $20 million luxury penthouse apartment. That purchaser saved $1.1 million in stamp duty because of Labor’s changes. The real estate agent said that person would have bought the property anyway, but the $1.1 million was a nice sweetener. Imagine how many homelessness services could have been funded with that $1.1 million. It is outrageous, and in fact just unethical, that the Labor government here in Victoria is giving tax handouts to the ultrawealthy to buy penthouse apartments when we are in a cost-of-living and housing crisis. We have apartments in Prahran that are being advertised with ‘Come and buy these apartments; you will save $400,000 in stamp duty.’ This is not okay.