Make housing affordable says peak welfare body
06 August 2003
By Council of Social Service of NSW
The Council of Social Service of NSW (NCOSS) will ask the Productivity Commission to examine the potential of using mandatory affordable housing targets and stamp duty exemptions for lower income home buyers in major urban development projects, as a measure to deliver greater levels of affordable housing.
"NCOSS, like many others, is disappointed about the narrow and selective
terms of reference given by the Commonwealth Government to Productivity
Commission Inquiry." said Director, Gary Moore.
"Access to home ownership is only one of the determinants of affordable
housing."
"Similarly, the impacts of key Commonwealth taxes such as capital gains,
measures such as negative gearing, payments such as first home buyer subsidies
and rent assistance and continual cuts to funding for public housing all play
their part in the affordable
housing equation and should be included for
scrutiny."
"We believe that Governments should be striving to achieve a greater social
mix in all new residential developments, whether through "greenfield" sites
nearer the urban fringe or in 'brownfield' sites in the inner and middle ring
suburbs."
"A mix of income and household types would help to ease spiralling property
prices, to reduce the prevalence of separate well-off 'walled' neighbourhoods
and 'poverty trap' suburbs, and diminish the long term costs on Government
coffers and community capacity of
social exclusion.
"The costs of such social mix developments should be borne partially by land
owners and developers, through contributions, partially by State Governments
through targeted tax concessions and partially though investors and owner
occupiers through changes to Commonwealth tax benefits."
'Simply speeding up land releases and reducing stamp duties will do little to
reduce Sydney's spiralling housing costs. With continuing record low interest
rates, it might simply fuel another burst of price rises after a temporary lull,
which will further hurt aspiring first home buyers."
"It will undoubtedly increase the already yawning gap between richer and
poorer households across Sydney and in some regional cities. And it will do
nothing to improve the supply of public
housing or assist those paying above
50% of their weekly income on private rent," added Mr Moore.
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