Democrats Deputy Leader, Senator Andrew Bartlett, says the Prime Minister should stop dodging responsibility for high housing costs and start instituting a national strategy to resolve the affordability crisis.
"here are many reasons why housing costs are high, but the Prime Minister cannot keep pretending that every single one of them lies at the feet of State Governments,"
Senator Bartlett said.
"The Productivity Commission recommended specific actions be taken by the Federal Government in this area over two years ago, yet their proposals were totally dismissed by a Treasurer lacking in ticker and vision."
"It is time for Mr Howard to repair the damage done by Mr Costello's failings."
"It is well past time that there was some national leadership on this matter."
"We need a national strategy for action that assesses all the different factors responsible for high housing costs."
"Blaming the States does not help the thousands of Australian families who are struggling to cope with the cost of keeping a roof over their heads, and it ignores many of the factors outside the control of the States."
"Yes, the States should re-examine issues like stamp duties, charges, land releases and the way they run public housing. But the Federal Government must equally look at the vast tax subsidies provided to property investors compared to what is spent directly on providing homes for Australians."
"Both Federal and State Governments share equal blame for the overall drop in the amount of public and community housing available."
"Every sector of the community, including builders, developers, unions, community groups and Local Government have been working together developing strategies on affordable housing for years. The one group conspicuously absent has been the Federal Government, who continue to wash their hands of the issue."
"It is time they stopped dodging their responsibilities and actually helped tackle the hard issues, instead of just looking for the cheap political points, while Australian families continue to suffer," Senator Bartlett said.
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