Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Most Australians, especially younger families, aspire to the great Australian dream of owning their own home. Owning a little piece of Australia gives families security and stability to plan for the future. It is so important that we encourage this aspiration to homeownership, because the benefits that it creates are more than just economic. It also creates real social benefits and a real sense of community. Owning their own home gives people a stake in the area in which they live.

However, in my home state of Western Australia, and particularly in my electorate of Stirling, the WA Labor government’s policies have created serious barriers to housing development and have created a housing crisis that is making the dream of owning their own home a nightmare for many Western Australians. The issue is a lack of available land. Given the sheer size of Western Australia, this is particularly galling. What is often referred to as ‘urban consolidation’ is in reality a way of packing more people into existing services and thereby short-changing those who need the most help. The availability of land, the price to develop that land and the cost of transferring that land are absolutely critical to preserving every family’s dream. There is so much room for reform in Western Australia.

The WA Labor government have made no changes in policy, have not reduced barriers to development, have made no process reforms and, worst of all, have given no tax relief. Since taking office they have jacked up stamp duty to one of the highest levels in the country, and they have raised it three budgets in a row. This has resulted in a windfall of money for them and, when the stamp duty receipts are added to the increasing GST receipts, they are literally swimming in cash.

Yesterday’s announcement that the state government had finally decided to appoint a so-called land release coordinator comes as too little too late for thousands of Western Australians, and it comes only after the immense pressure that has been placed on the Labor government by my state Liberal colleagues, who have been vocal in protecting the homeownership dreams of Western Australians. I am very pleased to see that the Leader of the Opposition, Mr Paul Omodei, has now commissioned a task force to review the WA housing market. It will look at landownership and the right to develop; the planning system and processes; house building codes; approval requirements; the charging of developers; the taxation of land, including transfer fees; and assistance to first home buyers. This report will expose the WA Labor government’s failed housing policy and will hopefully push for policy change.

Thirty years ago, the average house price in Australia was approximately three times the level of median family income. Today, the average house price is nearly nine times that level. While the cost of housing construction has remained relatively static in real terms, it is the cost of land that has dramatically increased. I call on the WA state Labor government to do something about it by reducing outrageous transfer fees. (Time expired)