Tammy Tyrrell (Tasmania, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Teamwork makes the dream work, eh! We need to make housing more affordable and fairer, yes. We need to increase supply, particularly through medium-density housing. But we also need to fix the unfairness in our housing market; we need to fix the unfair tax breaks. They benefit property investors more than they benefit first home buyers. The government should remember what Labor stands for and enact real tax reforms to tax capital more and tax workers' labour less, like reducing income tax, taxing property moguls properly and taxing gas companies.

Right now, the system is tilted. It rewards those who already own multiple properties, while renters and young families are locked out of homeownership. It isn't fair for people to have tax breaks for owning 10-plus houses whilst renters struggle to buy their first one. That's inequality baked into policy. We need to fix the unfair tax breaks so more people can buy their first home.

In particular, just like every expert is saying, we need to change the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount which means investors pay tax on only half their gain in property value when they sell. This tax break helps wealthy property investors outcompete renters. The average loan size is around $100,000 more for investors than for first home buyers. No wonder young Australians are struggling.

Treasury is reportedly modelling limiting negative gearing to two properties, and that's sensible. We can't have people avoiding their fair share of tax when they own three or four houses while others can't secure one.

Yes, supply is still critical, and that's why I fought for the 12,000 homes for Tasmania through the HAFF—1,200 homes; it should have been 12,000! But investors mostly buy existing homes, rather than building new ones. We need to help first home buyers by fixing our unfair tax breaks for property investors.