Labor announces scheme with a suite of plans to ease state’s housing crisis
Tasmanians could be able to build or buy a property with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent under a Labor plan to ease the state’s housing pressures. FULL DETAILS + HAVE YOUR SAY >>
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A SCHEME that will allow people to be able to build or purchase a new home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent will ease rental stress in Tasmania, says Labor.
“This policy will help up to 5000 Tasmanians enter homeownership in the first term of a majority Labor Government – Tasmanians who would otherwise be stuck in the rental market and unable to fund a deposit to purchase a new home,” Labor leader Rebecca White said.
“We will also expand the eligibility of the HomeShare scheme to get more people into home ownership. This will help on average about 400 Tasmanians purchase a house over the first term of a majority Labor Government.
“Labor will increase the affordable rental scheme by 50 to a total of 300 rental properties statewide to help alleviate rental stress.
“And Labor will reduce land tax, placing downward pressure on rents.”
Opposition housing spokeswoman Alison Standen said the Liberals had watched over a housing crisis with more than 3800 families waiting on the social housing waiting list.
“They continue to fail Tasmanians seeking private rental accommodation by refusing to regulate the short-stay sector,” she said.
“What’s needed urgently is a pause on new permits for entire dwellings in areas of high rental stress, which would improve the availability and affordability of private rental accommodation.”
Labor ups the ante on land tax cuts
LABOR would abolish land tax on all properties below $100,000 and deliver big cuts to most property owners, leader Rebecca White announced on Thursday.
Ms White said Labor’s plan to reduce land tax would place downward pressure on rent while helping out landlords and shack owners.
The policy would abolish land tax altogether on 60,000 land tax accounts and provide cuts between $450 and $2300 a year to 150,000 land tax accounts.
“A majority Labor government will deliver big land tax cuts for all land taxpayers with holdings of up to $3 million,” Ms White said.
“These cuts will have a focus on shack owners, ‘mum and dad’ investors and landlords in the lower and middle tiers of the rental market.
“The cuts will ease the cost of living pressures on small land owners and provide incentives for medium-scale property investors to cap or reduce rental increases.”
Labor’s treasury spokesman David O’Byrne said the plan would abolish land tax below a $100,000 threshold and would provide cuts between 60 per cent for properties valued at between $100,000 and $150,000 and 20 per cent for properties valued between $500,000 and $1 million.
“Labor’s land tax cuts are up to four times greater than those announced by the Liberals and Peter Gutwein,” Mr O’Byrne said. (See below)
But the party’s costing ran into scepticism from Premier Peter Gutwein, saying it went further than the Liberals’ policy to cut or abolish land tax for 74,000 Tasmanians – which was costed by Treasury at $14.6m – but somehow cost less.
“Labor’s land tax policy announced today states that 60,000 taxpayers will pay no land tax and provides significant tax cuts to those who do pay,” Mr Gutwein said.
“Labor claims this will cost $7.5 million. How can this be?”
REVEALED: Libs target foreigners in land tax shake-up
FOREIGN investors will pay more land tax if the Liberals are re-elected, Premier Peter Gutwein says.
The Premier said the government would introduce a Foreign Investor Land Tax Surcharge on residential properties, but said the rate for locals would fall.
“The surcharge will ensure foreign investors are paying their fair share when owning residential properties in Tasmania and contributing more to the essential services and infrastructure our growing state needs,” he said.
“We estimate the surcharge will raise around $1.5 million per year, allowing us to reinvest the benefits straight back into the community and ease cost of living pressures for Tasmanians by offsetting significant land tax bill increases.”
Land tax is payable on vacant land, commercial properties, rental properties and shacks, but not on primary places of residence.
The government planned to introduce the surcharge in 2019 but changed its mind after protests from farming groups.
Mr Gutwein said the new tax increase would not apply to agricultural land.
“Similar to other states, the surcharge will be set at 2 per cent, complementing the Foreign Investor Duty Surcharge to level the playing field on property transactions that we introduced three years ago,” he said.
“Additionally, within 60 days of being re-elected we will task Treasury to consider and provide advice on capping significant land tax increases, as seen in other jurisdictions in the past.”
The government has been the subject of a vigorous campaign from landlords and other property owners over the state’s land tax rules.
Mr Gutwein said one of the reasons land tax bills were rising was the increase in valuations due to the booming property market.
“With our economy strong, we expect the next round of land valuations will include significant uplift in property valuations as a result of the very strong growth in our property market,” he said.
“We want to put more money back into the pockets of hardworking Tasmanians, and this will look at the best way forward to alleviate these impacts and reduce cost of living pressures.”
The government has already announced increases to land tax thresholds, with the land value at which land tax becomes payable to double from $25,000 to $50,000. The top threshold will also increase by $50,000, from $350,000 to $400,000.
It is estimated to save about 70,000 landowners to up to $613 a year, and 4100 additional landowners will pay no land tax at all.
Labor’s $196m bid to cut housing wait list
LABOR has unveiled its plans to combat Tasmania’s public housing shortage.
Labor leader Rebecca White announced on Wednesday a $195.7m proposal for an additional 2000 homes to be built over the next six years if the party wins government.
“This is necessary because the public housing register has blown out to nearly 4000 families and right now they are waiting far too long to get housed,” she said.
“This commitment will support the allocation of just not 2000 homes, it will create 1700 jobs in Tasmania in the construction sector and also help 4600 Tasmanians get a roof over their head.”
Labor housing spokeswoman Alison Standen said the locations for the homes are yet to be finalised, but the party was working closely with community housing providers to ensure they were built in the areas with the highest demand.
“A Tasmanian Labor government, through our TAFE reforms, will ensure that we have the pipeline of workers and address the worker shortages in high-demand industries like construction,” she said.
Unlike the Greens’ housing pledge, which will create a Department of Public Works in its plan to build 8000 new affordable homes, Labor said there doesn’t need to be any administrative changes to deliver on their proposal.
TT-line told to seal new ships deal
TT-Line has been urged to sign a contract with Finnish shipbuilder Rauma Marine Constructions to build two new Bass Strait ferries as soon as possible.
At the Port of Devonport on Wednesday, Premier Peter Gutwein said he had directed the Spirit of Tasmania operator to move the $850m deal forward so two new ships would arrive in Tasmania – the first in late 2023 and the second in late 2024.
TT-Line chairman Michael Grainger said he was pleased the government had agreed with TT-Line’s original position that two steel monohull vessels were the right approach for the Bass Strait run.
The government announced 30 days ago it would go back to square one and re-engage the Finnish shipbuilder after its six-month search for an Australian company to build the vessels came to naught.
Devonport Mayor Annette Rockliff said the North-West city had experienced “some dismay” when the delay was first announced but she was now excited the deal would move forward along with a $240m upgrade of the port.
Mr Gutwein announced the contract with RMC would include up to $100 million of local content and penalty provisions are included in the event those local content provisions were not satisfied.
“This will mean that Tasmanian businesses will now be able to participate in the supply of local goods and services like furniture, carpets, catering equipment and galley, pantries, fire doors, steel doors, machinery including water pumps, expansion tanks, diesel engine equipment, compressors, bilge pumps, platforms and railings, sprinklers and heating systems, as well as CCTV and communications systems,” he said.
The government also announced it would spend $240m upgrading the terminals at the Port of Devonport – a project that could begin immediately if it is re-elected on May 1.
The government will also spend $145m at the Port of Burnie – works that were identified by Infrastructure Australia as a priority but will take to be realised.
“$5m will be put up straight away to fast track that by allowing TasPorts to finalise its business case. The federal government will then be approached for funding,” Mr Gutwein said.
But Mr Gutwein would not shed any light on the identity of a Richard Smith who has donated $50,000 to the Liberals’ election campaign.
“He is obviously someone who supports strong, stable, majority government,” Mr Gutwein said.
Mr Smith is the first person to be listed on the Liberal Party’s website as having donated to its election campaign under a promise from both it and Labor to disclose all campaign donations above $5000 within two days of receiving them.
Famed entrepreneur Dick Smith has already told the media the donation did not come from him.
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