DEBATES – Monday 27 June 2016
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DEBATES – Monday 27 June 2016 Madam Speaker took the Chair at 10 am. Labor welcomes this change of heart in line with Mr Kilian’s comments and with what Labor and STATEMENTS BY SPEAKER many Territorians have been saying, that the CLP Floral Arrangements Competition made a mistake. Madam SPEAKER: Honourable members, you However, this government has not gone far have on your desks some green Oasis and a enough; the relief offered is not as significant as it bowl. Last year the Royal Darwin Show had a should be. Labor has a very clear approach that competition with members and mayors to make a is different to what the CLP is offering today. floral arrangement or otherwise. The member for Labor will provide stamp duty relief by making the Fong Lim won last year, so I encourage you to first $500 000 of any purchase of an existing participate if you can. I will find out when you home free of stamp duty for all first home buyers. need to drop them off, which will probably be on This will save first home buyers $24 000 on their the Thursday. I hope you support it as you did purchase. My office has spoken to all the major last year. banks and they all agree that this will lift the capacity of first home buyers, especially young Best Wishes to Members people, entering into their first home. Madam SPEAKER: As this is the last sitting That is what we are trying to do. We are losing before the Northern Territory general election, I too many Territorians; we are not having enough want to take the opportunity to wish everyone the Territorians buy their first home in the Territory. very best. To those who are leaving, best wishes We have seen that slump since the CLP made its in your future endeavours. To those who are decision to walk away from first home buyers and recontesting, best wishes. Hopefully some of us, if existing property assistance. We have to help not all, will be back in the next term, and perhaps those Territorians into their first home. some new people. Very best wishes to you all in whatever you do. Our changes will mean that more people will buy here. This will free up the housing market for STAMP DUTY AMENDMENT (FIRST HOME those who wish to sell their house and build or buy OWNER DISCOUNT) BILL a new home or move into an upgraded home. It (Serial 174) will mean that more people are investing in the Northern Territory and will stay here. That is what Continued from 25 May 2016. we want; it makes sense for the Territory economically and for our future population growth. Mr GUNNER (Opposition Leader): Madam We need to have our minds on that goal. Speaker, the opposition supports this bill. We believe it is critical that first home buyers receive Additionally, Labor’s policy is supported by a stamp duty relief when purchasing existing $10 000 tradies package over two years, which homes. will provide first home buyers with the ability to upgrade or renovate their homes, or purchase Labor believes the decision to remove stamp duty goods locally for up to $2000. This money must relief from existing homes was bad policy, and it be spent locally. had huge implications and repercussions for Territorians. It resulted in a massive 37% Labor has a consistent policy position on how to reduction in first home buyers seeking finance to address the population loss under the CLP to buy a home. It resulted in housing market sale down south. How can we help more Territorians levels being the lowest in the Territory’s history. buy their first home? How can we stimulate the economy through the prism of keeping people It was roundly criticised by a number of here and entering them into their first home? That commentators, none more so than Quentin Kilian, is what we want to do with regard to stamp duty the Executive Officer of the Real Estate Institute. relief for first home owners and a stimulus Mr Kilian said: package for first home owners. That is our position and why we support this bill, but, if We believe the evidence is now very clear elected, Labor will improve on this plan. that the policy changes made by the Northern Territory Government in 2015 to Finally, the reason we are debating this bill today the FHOG program … is because of CLP incompetence and chaos, which has seen an extra sitting day added to the The First Home Owner Grant program: parliamentary agenda. I assume most of us initially had different plans to being here today. … have not worked in the manner that they Mine was to be riding 100 km or so for a charity, were planned and changes need to be for the Katherine to Darwin Challenge, raising made immediately to rectify the imbalance. funds for Total Recreation. I had to miss that 8523 DEBATES – Monday 27 June 2016 today. As a result, I think the CLP members The $10 000 grant will make a huge difference to should all make a donation to that very worthy first home owners who want to buy in an older cause. If people are interested they can look up suburb and renovate, starting with something the Facebook page of the Katherine to Darwin more humble and building up from there. This Challenge, or Google the good work it does. It is announcement is perfectly timed with our organised by Simon Watts, a real estate agent, announcement of the tradie voucher. People are and I am sure he has very strong opinions about registering like crazy for that at the moment. With first home owner grants as well. It would be very the $2000, which people can match, it is the worthy of the CLP to donate to that cause today. perfect opportunity to take advantage of the 50% It is what I was meant to be doing today, but stamp duty concession on properties up to the because of CLP chaos and incompetence we value of $450 000. Coupled with the tradie have this extra sitting day in addition to the voucher, people are well on the way to realising existing parliamentary agenda of the last four their first home owner dreams. years. I am pleased to have been able to meet with Madam Speaker, our position is that we support groups and hear different sides of the story. I am this bill, but if elected, Labor will be improving on pleased to have been able to work with our this plan to make sure it delivers, keeps those government to deliver a stamp duty concession. It Territorians here and gets them into their first is important that we offer both. Make no mistake; home. We have to make that difference to the we took a very deliberate policy direction for a Northern Territory. very deliberate purpose. We wanted to clear up Labor’s mess and bring down the skyrocketing Mrs FINOCCHIARO (Drysdale): Madam rents that we saw in Darwin, Palmerston and the Speaker, I also support this bill and I thank the northern suburbs. Treasurer for bringing it to the House. When we first came to government there was an incredibly I thank the minister; this is a very good critical shortage of housing. We had to make concession. It has been welcomed by people in some immediate and very important decisions so my electorate. A $10 000 stamp duty concession we could get Territorians into their own homes. goes a long way to getting people into their first Part of that was changing the First Home Owner home. We should see the turnover in existing Grant so more people were building or buying new housing stock moving more quickly now. I know homes. The direction we took was incredibly people who are selling, some are downsizing and deliberate and effective. some upsizing, and they greatly appreciate it as well. Everyone wins with this concession. It is wonderful to go through Johnston and Zuccoli and see the hundreds and hundreds of new I commend the bill to the House. houses in those suburbs. It was a very deliberate policy for a deliberate period of time, and it had a Mr ELFERINK (Attorney-General and Justice): deliberate and positive outcome. That policy has Madam Speaker, I want to place this bill into been in place for several years now, since we context. The member for Drysdale touched on it came to government. The landscape has fleetingly, but we need to take a moment to changed because we have been able to consider the circumstances in which we came to effectively get houses into the market and people government more fulsomely than the member for into their own homes. Drysdale touched on. Last year I met with several conveyancers, people When we came to government, house prices in from REINT, real estate agents and different this jurisdiction were simply unaffordable because groups of people in that market, who explained to the Labor government was sitting on a land me that our policy change had had the effect we release system that had become constipated. desired and older housing stock was not being Consequently, the Labor government also ran a taken up by the first home owner cohort. They system of assisting first home owners into existing were attracted to building new homes, which is homes, which meant the price of housing was exactly what we wanted to get more houses into artificially inflated under its settings.