Social and affordable housing
Mr DAVIS (Southern Metropolitan—Leader of the Opposition) (12:46): I want to draw the chamber’s attention today to the state government’s massive new hit on housing affordability and the cost-of-living pressures that are faced by young families. The decision to impose an absolutely scandalous 1.75 per cent tax on social housing will force young families, struggling families, to pay for this important service. Now, the fact is this should not be landed on these families, and this state government is addicted to taxation. There have been 41 new taxes since December 2014, and this is another one that is going to hit very hard—hit young families really hard, and their ability to purchase a new home will recede further. It is $20 000 in metropolitan Melbourne that is the size of the hit and probably $12 000 in country Victoria. Think about a $20 000 hit, a nasty new tax on top of the cost of homes for young families.
You know, tax is a nasty three-letter word in this context, where it is visited on young families, families that are trying to get their first home, families that are trying to buy a home on the edge of the city. And this government is determined through its mismanagement, its mistakes, its waste—the mismanagement of major projects has forced it into a terrible financial position where it is coming after people’s money, and it is coming after the money of young families, making their homes more expensive. It is a scandal.