Coalition’s housing announcement won’t touch the sides of the affordability crisis

Responding to NSW shared equity scheme announcement today as part of the upcoming state budget, Greens Housing spokesperson Jenny Leong MP and Greens Treasury spokesperson Abigail Boyd MLC have called for a broader more equitable response to the housing crisis.

Abigail Boyd MLC and Greens Treasury, Finance & Economy Spokesperson said:

“This is a desperate scramble to plug the holes in a housing system sinking under the weight of decades of bad policy decisions. The housing crisis in NSW can’t be solved with these sorts of half-baked copycat ideas – we need bold reforms that reinstate housing as first and foremost a home and not a commodity.

“This home equity scheme, just like the proposed stamp duty reforms, is first and foremost about lining the pockets of the Coalition’s property developer mates.

“Instead of taking just an equity stake and propping up the private housing market and the balance sheets of the big banks, the Coalition government should be making a massive investment in public housing across the state. It is only with 100% state ownership of more housing stock that we can begin to turn this crisis around.” said Ms Boyd.

Jenny Leong MP and Greens Housing Spokesperson said:

“The Coalition’s supposed “fix” for housing that’s been unveiled today won’t even touch the sides of the affordability crisis in this state.

“This scheme is so limited in terms of who can access it that it will have no benefit to people who are eligible and work in the inner suburbs of Sydney, with virtually no properties for a family meeting the price cap.

"So many people who are in desperate need of housing security will be left out and ineligible for this scheme.

“There has been no mention of support for people with a disability. While artists, hospitality workers, childcare and community service workers all appear to be excluded.

“People are in crisis, this is not the time to tinker around the edges, we need a complete overhaul of the housing system so that it puts people before profit.

“This means building masses of public housing, properly investing in crisis accommodation and wrap around services for people who are homeless, and putting renters rights at the heart of the solution to this housing crisis.

“This crisis didn’t just happen, but it can be solved – it is time to put an end to the decades of inaction and bad policy by successive governments and ensure everybody has a place to call home.” said Ms Leong.

Media contact:

Alysha Hardy (for Abigail Boyd): 0477 071 987

Chandi Bates (for Jenny Leong): 0430 277 254

TAX SUPERPROFITS TO PAY WORKERS MORE

NSW is missing out on tens of billions of dollars. By introducing a progressive coal royalty structure similar to the one in Queensland, we would have raised an extra $20 billion last year.

The NSW Government owns and controls, on behalf of the people of this state, the rights to the minerals and materials that naturally occur in NSW land.

Huge fossil fuel companies are only able to extract and sell these commodities with the consent of the State. It’s time they paid a fair price for that privilege.

The fossil fuel industry has made hundreds of billions of dollars out of their cosy relationship with governments. Granted permission to extract and sell coal, these large multinational fossil fuel corporations pay just over 7% in royalties back to the people of NSW – keeping the rest as mega-profits for themselves. These companies have a track record of taking more than their fair share and leaving communities suffering and stranded with poisoned groundwater, devastated landscapes and a stranded workforce when it suits their business models.

Globally, the hyper-inflation of fossil fuel prices driven by price-gouging opportunism and war profiteering from Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has delivered record windfall profits to these already obscenely wealthy corporations. In the last year, NSW coal exports totaled over $70 billion dollars, but the people of NSW will only see about 7 cents in every dollar, or about $6 billion dollars of that amount.

Rather than going toward schools, hospitals and public infrastructure, billions of dollars went into the pockets of multinational mining corporations. The Greens believe there should be more money for schools and hospitals and less for mining billionaires.

Sign our petition calling on the NSW Labor Government to increase coal royalties to invest in communities.

Will you sign?

First Name

Last Name

Mobile phone

Address (Street, Suburb, State, Postcode)

Country

I want to volunteer

Join with Facebook

Join with Twitter

Coalition’s housing announcement won’t touch the sides of the affordability crisis

TAX SUPERPROFITS TO PAY WORKERS MORE

Sign our petition calling on the NSW Labor Government to increase coal royalties to invest in communities.

Will you sign?

Join the Campaign

Join 50,072 other supporters in taking action