❓ The Minister for Housing details initiatives like stamp duty concessions and infrastructure funds aimed at boosting housing supply, criticising the opposition's lack of housing policy and focus on red tape.
AnsweredQoN 703Legislative Assembly
QuestionView source ↗
HOUSING —
AFFORDABILITY
703. Mr D.A.E. SCAIFE to the Minister for Housing:
I
refer to the Cook Labor government's efforts to increase the supply of
affordable housing across Western Australia . Can the minister advise the
house how initiatives delivered by this government, such as the infrastructure
development fund and stamp duty rebates, are providing more housing supply
across the state?
AFFORDABILITY
703. Mr D.A.E. SCAIFE to the Minister for Housing:
I
refer to the Cook Labor government's efforts to increase the supply of
affordable housing across Western Australia . Can the minister advise the
house how initiatives delivered by this government, such as the infrastructure
development fund and stamp duty rebates, are providing more housing supply
across the state?
AnswerView source ↗
I
thank the member for his question. I also cheekily acknowledge one of my casual
staff members, Stephanie Gooch , and her husband, Tim Kerin, who last
week welcomed their first child—a daughter, Sophia Grace Kerin. I love
your work. Congratulations.
I thank the member. I am
very pleased that our government—it is important work!—is
continuing to deliver reforms and policy measures to respond to the
critical need to boost housing supply in Western Australia. As I have said
before in this place, COVID has radically reshaped our housing and construction
markets. It has affected them in many ways, with skilled labour shortages, cost
escalations and global supply issues. This has affected housing markets across
Australia, but it has particularly affected the development of apartments and
density development. The housing sector will tell members that we have seen
cost escalations of up to 40 per cent. That means that, particularly for
density developments, it is make or break. It actually means that as a result
of those cost escalations, we have not seen the density development that we
need. As a result, our state government is responding through a range of policy measures. It was brilliant today
to join with the Premier and the Deputy Premier to announce two measures.
The first is the extension of the stamp duty concession for apartments. We
brought in an up-front concession of 100 per cent for off-the-plan apartments
up to $650 000 and tapering off. We announced today that we are extending the
concession to apartments that are under construction. The advice is that this
will assist. Some builders and developers were holding off because they wanted
their customers to benefit from the off-the-plan rebate. They can start going, because now homes or apartments under
construction are eligible. Just to be very clear , for an apartment
costing around $650 000, that is a stamp duty reduction of more than $18 000.
That is assisting with affordability and assisting with projects.
The
second measure we announced is a second tranche of our infrastructure fund—another
more than $15 million to support 15 infill projects to deliver 1 500
apartments. To date, that infrastructure fund has allocated $22 million to
assist 2 200 apartments to be built. We know that in this market, housing
across the continuum—social, affordable, medium and even high-end
product—is needed to assist with the rental market, and this measure
has been welcomed by industry.
Compare
our approach with that of the opposition. It is nearly now six full years and
the opposition has not announced one housing policy solution, but the
member for Cottesloe is running around making commitments about adding more red
tape to development, thereby abolishing a significant pathway for community
housing and major housing. The latest commitment to review the development
assessment panels to concentrate more power back to local government would actually make it harder to improve housing in Western
Australia. What is more astonishing than
the member for Cottesloe making policy on the run is that the Leader of the
Liberal Party says absolutely nothing . Every state across this country
is driving the cutting and streamlining of the approvals process to boost
housing supply, but the member for Cottesloe is running around making policy
announcements in the Subiaco Post and is more focused on traffic issues
than housing supply. The Leader of the Liberal Party is silent on housing and
planning reform. Zilch. Nothing to be seen here. It is incredible. There is a stark
contrast between those opposite, who are more concerned about adding more red
tape, stopping housing development and making it more difficult for individual
property owners to redevelop their homes, and we on this side, who are working,
along with every other state in this country, to streamline and cut red tape to
accelerate the delivery of housing in Western Australia.
thank the member for his question. I also cheekily acknowledge one of my casual
staff members, Stephanie Gooch , and her husband, Tim Kerin, who last
week welcomed their first child—a daughter, Sophia Grace Kerin. I love
your work. Congratulations.
I thank the member. I am
very pleased that our government—it is important work!—is
continuing to deliver reforms and policy measures to respond to the
critical need to boost housing supply in Western Australia. As I have said
before in this place, COVID has radically reshaped our housing and construction
markets. It has affected them in many ways, with skilled labour shortages, cost
escalations and global supply issues. This has affected housing markets across
Australia, but it has particularly affected the development of apartments and
density development. The housing sector will tell members that we have seen
cost escalations of up to 40 per cent. That means that, particularly for
density developments, it is make or break. It actually means that as a result
of those cost escalations, we have not seen the density development that we
need. As a result, our state government is responding through a range of policy measures. It was brilliant today
to join with the Premier and the Deputy Premier to announce two measures.
The first is the extension of the stamp duty concession for apartments. We
brought in an up-front concession of 100 per cent for off-the-plan apartments
up to $650 000 and tapering off. We announced today that we are extending the
concession to apartments that are under construction. The advice is that this
will assist. Some builders and developers were holding off because they wanted
their customers to benefit from the off-the-plan rebate. They can start going, because now homes or apartments under
construction are eligible. Just to be very clear , for an apartment
costing around $650 000, that is a stamp duty reduction of more than $18 000.
That is assisting with affordability and assisting with projects.
The
second measure we announced is a second tranche of our infrastructure fund—another
more than $15 million to support 15 infill projects to deliver 1 500
apartments. To date, that infrastructure fund has allocated $22 million to
assist 2 200 apartments to be built. We know that in this market, housing
across the continuum—social, affordable, medium and even high-end
product—is needed to assist with the rental market, and this measure
has been welcomed by industry.
Compare
our approach with that of the opposition. It is nearly now six full years and
the opposition has not announced one housing policy solution, but the
member for Cottesloe is running around making commitments about adding more red
tape to development, thereby abolishing a significant pathway for community
housing and major housing. The latest commitment to review the development
assessment panels to concentrate more power back to local government would actually make it harder to improve housing in Western
Australia. What is more astonishing than
the member for Cottesloe making policy on the run is that the Leader of the
Liberal Party says absolutely nothing . Every state across this country
is driving the cutting and streamlining of the approvals process to boost
housing supply, but the member for Cottesloe is running around making policy
announcements in the Subiaco Post and is more focused on traffic issues
than housing supply. The Leader of the Liberal Party is silent on housing and
planning reform. Zilch. Nothing to be seen here. It is incredible. There is a stark
contrast between those opposite, who are more concerned about adding more red
tape, stopping housing development and making it more difficult for individual
property owners to redevelop their homes, and we on this side, who are working,
along with every other state in this country, to streamline and cut red tape to
accelerate the delivery of housing in Western Australia.
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