Nathan Hagarty, Labor’s candidate for Leppington, has lauded NSW Labor’s recent policy announcements on tackling housing affordability.
Speaking in Edmondson Park in the heart of the South-Western Sydney growth corridor, alongside NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns, Hagarty described Labor’s housing package as “a win for local families”.
Labor’s housing affordability package will:
- Remove or reduce the stamp duty tax burden from 46,500 first home buyers over the next three years. This includes a stamp duty exemption for first home buyers purchasing a home under $800,000, and a reduced stamp duty for those purchasing a home under $1 million;
- Abolish the NSW Government’s forever land tax on the family home;
- Create a “Homes NSW” agency to tackle the housing crisis;
- Charge the Greater Cities Commission to rebalance population and housing growth by setting new housing targets on Metro lines to the city.
- Introducing a mandatory requirement for 30% of all homes built on surplus government land to be set aside for social, affordable and universal housing
- Provide longer term funding certainty for homelessness and housing support organisations and tenancy advocacy services dealing with the fall-out from the housing crisis.
Independent modelling by the Parliamentary Budget Office shows that within the first three years of Labor’s plan, 27,700 first home buyers would have paid no stamp duty whatsoever, with an additional 18,800 first home buyers paying a discounted rate.
Hagarty described the move as another way Labor is tackling the cost of living crisis biting families in the South-West.
“Housing affordability and cost of living are issues that come up each and every day as I knock on doors and speak with local people. Interest rates, energy prices, groceries and tolls are all going up – it’s time for a government that will give locals a helping hand,” Hagarty said.
“It’s a struggle that my family and I understand first-hand. We see the cost of living increasing each time my wife and I look at our bills, go to the groceries or drive around town to visit family and friends.
“Young families and their parents talk to me about this issue every day. Families are being locked out of the housing market, or are having to move further and further away from their communities and networks to be able to afford a home.
“Not having to pay stamp duty will make it easier for first home owners to purchase a home to call their own. It’s a sensible proposal that means people in Leppington will be able to realise their dream of owning a home.”
“This election presents local families with a clear choice,” Mr Hagarty added. “Pay less tax under a Minns Labor government, or a forever tax on your home under Dominic Perrottet’s Liberals.”
Nathan Hagarty – Labor for Leppington
