‘Ready for the fight’: Coalition seeks to block repeal of Perrottet’s signature stamp duty reform

The NSW Coalition is gearing up to fight back against Labor’s planned repeal of Dominic Perrottet’s flagship stamp duty reforms when parliament resumes next month, setting the stage for the first major test of new Premier Chris Minns and his minority government.

As the Coalition seeks to move on from its election defeat in March, newly elected Opposition Leader Mark Speakman says he will make blocking the repeal of the reforms his top-order priority when the parliament sits for the first time on May 9.

New NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman and Natalie Ward.Credit: Nikki Short

“We’re certainly ready for the fight,” Speakman said.

“Not for the fight’s sake, but because it’s in the best interests of first home buyers and making it easier for them to get their first home at a time of unprecedented difficulty to do that.”

The First Home Buyer Choice bill passed by the previous government introduced an optional annual land tax on homes valued up to $1.5 million, meaning those entering the property market since January 16 have been able to avoid paying stamp duty.

It was one of Perrottet’s signature policies as premier, but Labor vocally opposed the policy, dubbing it a “forever tax on the family home” and promising to repeal it if they won government. Instead, the new government has promised to lift stamp duty exemptions on first home buyers to $800,000 from the current level of $650,000, with concessions for homes worth up to $1 million.

But as the Coalition grapples with its return to opposition after a bruising election that ended 12 years of government in NSW, Speakman will seek to rally battered MPs around preserving the policy with help from the expanded crossbench.

Buoyed by Labor’s failure to reach a majority in either chamber of parliament, Speakman said there was a “collective mandate” between the Coalition and the expanded crossbench to block its repeal.

“[Labor] had a minority of the primary vote, and we have a mandate, our MPs have a mandate, to promote the policies that we went to the election with,” he said.

“The bottom line is we want to preserve choice, and we’ll work with the crossbench on the best way to achieve that.”

‘We’re certainly ready for the fight.’

NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman

While Labor has insisted the policy would see people pay more tax over time, Revenue NSW data shows some 3726 homeowners have opted into the scheme since January. The former government had initially expected only 6500 people to sign up per year.

Speakman pointed to previously released data which showed the policy would save typical owners tens of thousands of dollars based on the average length of ownership for people who purchase their first property.

The new opposition leader faces his own first test as he seeks to win support within the Liberal partyroom to have his preferred deputy, Natalie Ward, installed amid internal doubts.

The NSW upper house is evenly poised between a 12-member crossbench split six-six between right and left-of-centre parties. The reform bill was passed with the support of the previous crossbench, and Speakman said he “hoped” they would support a bid to block its repeal.

“[They were] re-elected on the platforms and the initiatives they took before the election, so they do have a mandate to continue supporting it,” he said.

The previous government had pushed for the reform on the basis that first home buyers would pay less upfront, cutting the time to save for a deposit.

Some critics insisted the scheme did not go far enough because it was limited to first home buyers, and Speakman said he would consider adopting an expanded land tax regime policy in opposition.

“This scheme is meritorious and therefore an expansion may also be meritorious, but in the first instance this is [about] protecting what legislation is there, and we’ll look at further possibilities down the track,” he said.

While he said the new opposition would be “looking at a whole range of policies” to ease housing stress, he joined Minns in ruling out rental caps.

“If you want investors in the market increasing supply you don’t make it even less attractive,” he said.

Speakman, who as attorney-general in the Berejiklian and Perrottet governments pushed for drug law reforms, also dismissed the new government’s plan to hold a drug summit, saying Labor should look to the $11 million ice inquiry commissioned by the Coalition.

“I don’t think we need another drug summit,” he said.

While it was “important to speak to and collaborate with” experts, drug law reform had been discussed “ad nauseam” in recent years.

“We accepted many recommendations [of the ice inquiry and] we didn’t accept others. They should take the same approach we did, but if they differ in approach they should change which recommendations they do or don’t accept without the need for another summit.”

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