Skip navigation
  1. Home
  2. What I’m Working On
  3. Policies
  4. RENTERS RIGHTS

House prices need to come down. Not by a little, but by a lot.

 

The house-price-to-income-ratio in Australia has risen from 2.5 in the early 1990s to over eight now.

The Government needs to undertake bold action and restore the Great Australian Dream of home ownership.

 

Good planning

 

Western Australia has some of the most beautiful coastlines and natural harbours in the world.

Time and time again, our people have demonstrated that they prefer to close to those amenities, even if it means living in a smaller home.

That's why the Government should:

  1. Double developer contributions in outer-urban suburbs and redirect revenue to meeting infill targets in the city;
  2. Mandate that all new developments with more than 20 lots include a mixture of properties for sale, rent, and rent-to-buy; and
  3. Lobby the federal Government to curb negative gearing and implement the Henry Tax Review recommendation of a 40 per cent discount for all assets.

 

Quality and affordable housing

 

Australians don't have to choose between living in a home that is affordable and of good quality.

The Government can help realise both of these outcomes by fixing labour shortages, and boosting the supply of housing.

To do that, we must:

  1. Boost the supply of housing by providing over-55s with an exemption to stamp duty to 'rightsize' to a smaller home, and within 10 years, altogether replace stamp duty with a cost-neutral land tax;
  2. Unlock the construction backlog by providing tradies from overseas with an exemption to the Foreign Buyer Property Surcharge; and
  3. Mandate that all new builds have a minimum 7-Star NatHERS rating, and that all property sales include water and energy efficiency reports.

 

Social and rental housing

 

There's nothing wrong with renting a home or living in social housing.

In fact, the only thing that's untoward is when the Government fails to ensure the basic human rights of people who live in those homes.

That's why we should:

  1. Ban 'no-grounds evictions' and 'no-pet' clauses, and restrict increases in rent to increases to CPI and wage growth;
  2. Establish a 'charter of renter's rights'  and allow renters to carry out minor renovations such as hanging pictures, installing shelves, and enabling disability access; and
  3. Mandate that all GROH properties feature air-conditioning.