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To break the cycle of housing plans ending with a new election, the federal government must “offer the states a carrot no premier from any party can ignore”.
This is what the Property Council of Australia (PCA) emphasised in their pre-budget submission to the Australian government.
The PCA urged the federal government to double the $3.5 billion incentives currently available for states and territories that exceed their individual housing targets in the lead-up to 2029.
“History tells us housing supply repeatedly gets shoved in the too hard basket when politics intervenes,” said PCA chief executive Mike Zorbas.
“Right now, Labor is in power in every state government bar Tasmania, but the time will come when that changes and we need to keep our eyes on the national housing prize,” he said.
“A pool of $3.5 billion between eight states and territories to boost housing supply won’t survive changes in state politics,” Mr Zorbas stressed. “We need to break that cycle by offering the states a carrot no premier from any party can ignore.”
As well as doubling the $3 billion New Home Bonus and $500 million Housing Support Program, the PCA has additional recommendations to the Australian government.
The PCA called for specific targets for purpose-built student accommodation and retirement living communities to be included in the National Housing Accord.
“Most of us have wised up to the importance of housing supply and choice where we want to grow up and where we want to grow old,” Mr Zorbas said.
“If we expand higher density housing supply at either end of the age spectrum, where government and community services are most effectively delivered, then everyone benefits.”
The PCA’s submission also recommended that skilled construction workers make up a greater percentage of new immigrants, noting the widespread skills shortage in Australia.
“We have an ambitious national housing target, big state project builds on foot and growing green energy infrastructure needs that terrific training and TAFE initiatives cannot hope to meet,” said Mr Zorbas.
“We urgently need a higher proportion of the people we bring to Australia qualified in construction to build the housing all Australians need.”
The PCA further proposed that the federal government reduce the managed investment trust withholding tax rate to 10 per cent for build-to-rent projects that include affordable housing and better resourcing of the Foreign Investment Review Board.
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