Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I am incredulous at the hypocrisy of the Australian Labor Party in this debate. I know that some people would say it takes a degree of naivety to be incredulous at the hypocrisy of the Australian Labor Party, but I am. The reason that I am dumbstruck is that the member for Prospect and the member for Batman have said: ‘Let’s end the blame game. It’s about the time the Howard government put its money on the table and did something to correct infrastructure needs in regional and metropolitan centres.’ That is the exact line we have heard from members of the Australian Labor Party.

Newsflash to the Australian Labor Party: it was this very government that introduced the GST—not because it was politically popular but because it provides growth revenue to the state Labor governments. The fact is that state Labor governments are awash with cash from the GST. In Queensland alone, I know that the Beattie Labor government has a windfall gain of about $750 million to do something to ease housing affordability. And that is before we even get onto the issue of stamp duty. The reality is that the Australian Labor Party are not concerned in the slightest about this issue.

If Labor really cared about housing affordability, if Labor were genuinely concerned about making it easier for Middle Australians to buy their own homes, if Labor really had it as part of their policy, then maybe they would do something about their horrendous and obnoxious stamp duty charges at state government level. What we know is that state Labor governments—I am talking about the Beattie Labor government in Queensland and the Iemma Labor government in New South Wales—are gouging more stamp duty from ordinary working-class Australians than ever in our nation’s history. That is the legacy of the Australian Labor Party. That is the record of the Australian Labor Party. They are big on talk but they are slow on action. The Australian Labor Party are now gouging $9.6 billion in stamp duty out of the hands of ordinary, hardworking Australians who are scrimping for every dollar they can to own a home. The Australian Labor Party, the Iemma government, the Beattie government, the Bracks government—all these Labor governments—are happy to take every last dollar in stamp duty, plus GST. They are happy to take every last dollar. In fact, under state Labor governments, stamp duty has increased from $5.3 billion in 2000-01 to $9.6 billion now.

So let me put on the table what the Labor Party’s record is. Let us cut through the rhetoric and look at performance. The performance of state Labor governments is shameful. The opposition know it, and that is why they are too embarrassed to stand up in this place and defend the near doubling of stamp duty and the record haul of GST. That is what the opposition have to do if they are really serious about housing affordability.

But don’t just take my word for it; I am happy to go to the experts. Let us look at what the Property Council of Australia say in their national housing infrastructure cost study. The Property Council of Australia undertook a study, and the findings of that study are very illuminating. The findings of that study show that the second most significant component of new housing costs after construction is, in fact, government related taxes, levies, fees and compliance costs—and those are not federal government charges; they are charges that are levied at a state government level and at a local council level.

The Property Council of Australia found that charges in Sydney were up 466 per cent, charges in Brisbane were up 279 per cent and charges in Melbourne were up 40 per cent. So, thanks to state Labor governments, we see charges increasing by over 450 per cent. The Iemma government and the Beattie government are ripping every last dollar out of the hands of ordinary Australians with their horrendous stamp duty costs and they are also pocketing every last cent of GST. Shame on the Labor Party for the hypocrisy to come in here and pretend that they have any policy solution whatsoever for solving this crisis.

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