Andrew Broad (Mallee, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

As someone who built their first property with hard work in a shearing shed when I was 22, I understand something about property markets. I think the Australian people will wake up to the perverse effects of the Labor negative gearing policy on our country towns. One of the reasons we do not see investment in country towns is because there is not the capital growth. This policy essentially says that you will only build new premises and be able to negative gear it if you are an investor. The consequence for a country town is that no-one will build new premises in a country town because it does not have the capital growth and, when you go to sell that property, there will be no investors to repurchase it. The impact this has on renters, particularly the poorest in our society—and my electorate has the poorest in our society—is that mum and dad investors will not buy a tin-and-weatherboard house in those country towns because they will not be able to negative gear it. The renter who, because of their circumstances, is not able to get a deposit, will not be able to have a place to rent.

By favouring new premises over old premises, this policy will have diabolical effects on regional Australia and has not been thought out at all by the opposition. They criticise us for not thinking things through, but they have not thought this through. Winston Churchill said, 'A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on.' The Australian people are very smart. They will do the maths on their household budget and they will realise how shallow this policy and its impacts are.

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