Australian Greens Housing spokesperson Senator Mehreen Faruqi has responded to the latest data on median property prices in this week’s Domain House Price Report, with Sydney’s median house price now over $1.4 million and Melbourne over $1.0 million.
Senator Faruqi said:
“Millions of people are being robbed of housing security and housing affordability. This is nothing less than intergenerational theft.
“House prices are out of control while both Liberal and Labor turn a blind eye.
“It’s an absolute outrage that Labor has dumped its commitments to wind back negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount in the same week it was revealed that house prices have reached record highs across the country.
“It’s not good enough to pass the buck on housing to the states and territories. The Commonwealth cannot abrogate its responsibility on this.
“Unfair tax rules like negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount make it easier for someone to buy their fifth investment property than a first home to live in.
“To get the housing crisis under control we need to massively increase public housing supply through record investment and wind back the tax rules that have turned the housing market into a speculator’s game.”