Mr KURRUPUWU - 2015-04-28
Would you please update the House on how the Country Liberal Party budget is helping to reduce the cost of housing for Territorians?
ANSWER
Mr Deputy Speaker, that is a good question from the member for Arafura and I am thrilled to answer it. When we came to government we were in the grips of the worst housing crisis in the Territory’s history. House prices and rents went through the roof under Labor’s watch and very little was done to stem that tide of price increases.
Since coming to government we have made a very deliberate decision to change the way in which we provide the First Home Owner Grant. We said that rather than being used for existing homes, it could only be used for newly-constructed homes. This took away a lot of inflationary pressure from the housing market and put the resources where they spurred on construction growth. At the same time as we made that policy change we embarked on the biggest land release program in the Territory’s history. With the combination of those two events we are finally seeing the housing market cool off somewhat in the Northern Territory.
Last week the CommSec report stated that housing prices were declining, and this was seen as a bad thing on a national basis. I can understand why CommSec would think that, but in the Territory we did not see it as a bad thing. We have seen over-inflated housing prices cause cost-of-living pressures for Territorians, and it has always been our goal to reduce the cost of living for Territorians. The biggest feed-in to cost-of-living pressures is the cost of housing.
We are not stopping there. This budget invests a further $45.5m into the land release program to keep those projects going and keep downward pressure on rents and housing prices. It is a deliberate approach we have taken to deal with housing and rent issues in the Northern Territory. Apart from six people in the room, most people welcome the efforts the government has taken to reduce the cost of living in relation to the cost of housing and rent in the Territory.
ANSWER
Mr Deputy Speaker, that is a good question from the member for Arafura and I am thrilled to answer it. When we came to government we were in the grips of the worst housing crisis in the Territory’s history. House prices and rents went through the roof under Labor’s watch and very little was done to stem that tide of price increases.
Since coming to government we have made a very deliberate decision to change the way in which we provide the First Home Owner Grant. We said that rather than being used for existing homes, it could only be used for newly-constructed homes. This took away a lot of inflationary pressure from the housing market and put the resources where they spurred on construction growth. At the same time as we made that policy change we embarked on the biggest land release program in the Territory’s history. With the combination of those two events we are finally seeing the housing market cool off somewhat in the Northern Territory.
Last week the CommSec report stated that housing prices were declining, and this was seen as a bad thing on a national basis. I can understand why CommSec would think that, but in the Territory we did not see it as a bad thing. We have seen over-inflated housing prices cause cost-of-living pressures for Territorians, and it has always been our goal to reduce the cost of living for Territorians. The biggest feed-in to cost-of-living pressures is the cost of housing.
We are not stopping there. This budget invests a further $45.5m into the land release program to keep those projects going and keep downward pressure on rents and housing prices. It is a deliberate approach we have taken to deal with housing and rent issues in the Northern Territory. Apart from six people in the room, most people welcome the efforts the government has taken to reduce the cost of living in relation to the cost of housing and rent in the Territory.
Last updated: 09 Aug 2016