Local MP Greg Warren and opposition treasury spokesman Ryan Park have gone on a tour of Campbelltown to discuss with local business and residents how housing affordability has taken a hit under the Baird government.
“I want young people to have the same opportunity to buy their first home as Simone and I did in the early 1990s – that’s why I’m so determined to keep this issue on the agenda on behalf of the hundreds of thousands of aspiring home owners who work hard and just want a fair go,’’ Mr Warren said.
“The great Australian dream is not just a dream – it’s part of the fabric of our society that’s been a reality for many generations since federation, however only achievable in today’s market with the support of government.
[social_quote duplicate=”no” align=”default”]“If it’s good enough for Mike Baird and Gladys Berejiklian to collect rivers of gold from stamp duty and the housing market, it’s good enough for them to feed back into that same market and support the people and the economy that have driven that growth in the first place,” Mr Warren said.[/social_quote]
Mr Park said first home buyers were taking on record amounts of debt with Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian and the Baird Government failing to respond to NSW Treasury briefings about the impacts the Baird Government’s decisions were having on first home buyers.
Documents obtained by the NSW Opposition under freedom of information have shown that the treasurer was aware that significantly fewer first home buyers were gaining stamp duty concessions before handing down her 2016/17 budget.
A briefing to the Treasurer in March stated there were 614 First Home New Home (FHNH) concessions, 32.5 per cent below the number a year earlier.
In the three months to March 2016, the number of FHNH concessions was down 24.4 per cent on the previous year.
Mr Park said that despite being aware of the impacts two months before handing down her budget the treasurer continued to focus on increasing supply as the one and only measure to ease housing affordability.
There were no additional measures to offer greater assistance or concessions to first home buyers in the treasurer’s budget. With fewer first home buyers receiving stamp duty concessions, those that can enter the property market have been taking on record levels of debt.
Recently released data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has shown the average loan size in the last 12 months to June 2016 has reached $401,200 – an increase of $42,300 from the 2014/15 financial year.
In January this year the Government lowered the first home buyers grant by a third, dropping the assistance from $15,000 to $10,000.
“The Baird Government is consigning first home buyers to record levels of debt and offering next to no assistance along the way,’’ Mr Park said.
“Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian was briefed about the fall in the number of concessions that are granted to first home buyers well before handing down her budget but chose not to act.
“The days of a nurse or a police officer being able to afford a house in Sydney are long gone.
“Mike Baird and Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian have given first home buyers no other choice but to grit their teeth and get ready for a lifetime of painful mortgage repayments, or accept having to remain in the rental market.”
