2 May 2012

So Zed only cares about homebuyers?

| johnboy
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Liberal leader Zed Seselja is giving Andrew Barr the rounds of the kitchen for unsurprisingly not being signed up to Zed’s political orthodoxy.

Question: ‘Is the government’s affordable housing plan premised on the assumption that everyone in their lifetime will be able to purchase a home, or does it recognise that home ownership is unlikely to ever occur for some people?’

Andrew Barr: ‘The latter.’

Andrew Barr today ruled out home ownership for many Canberrans, on the same day that Katy Gallagher admitted that ACT Labor’s over-reliance on land sales deters potential buyers, ACT Opposition Leader Zed Seselja said today.

“The government should be doing all it can to maximise home ownership, not writing people off,” Mr Seselja said.

“Instead, ACT Labor today gave up on potential home owners. They are taxing Canberrans out of the market, and they haven’t even based their own affordable housing policy on the principle that everyone should have the opportunity to buy their own home.

Some might argue that “doing all it can to maximise home ownership” is a policy guaranteed to play hell with the bottom percentage income earners.

So the people in most need of Government assistance are the ones who get shafted in Zedtopia?

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That sort of thinking is what caused the GFC, plus ça change

At least he’s finally recognised that no-one will ever take him seriously.

What a stupid comment from Zed.
Of course there are going to be people who are never going to be able to own property through either choice or circumstance.
Although he is right that the government is too reliant on land sales which has resulted in higher prices.

I’m finding that quite a ridiculous comment. How does Zed suggest to allow a person on the dole to afford a house? Do they plan to let him pay off his govvy flat by paying 25% of his allowance per week?

The affordable housing scheme slightly lowers the income threshold for buying a home. Perhaps something could be done to lower that a bit more, but there has to be a line drawn somewhere unless we advocate donating houses to poor people, funded by taxes.

VYBerlinaV8_is_back1:08 pm 02 May 12

There are all sorts of reasons to rent. Why would we want to prevent people from doing so? Far better to look for ways to help people stabilise their occupancy (if that’s what they want) while leaving enough flexibility for those with the means to do so to make their own choices.

Straw man argument.

Some people will never own homes. Lots of people work on a casual basis, by choice, or by nature of their line of business. Some people are self-employed in micro businesses. Some people have severe disabilities and will never be able to work. Some people are on visas that will never allow them to work. Some people do not own homes now and are too old to work and thus secure one in the future.

It is not writing people off to acknowledge that home ownership is not the only, or even the universally right pathway to social security, and to look for alternative means of support for those people who cannot access it.

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