I want to change stamp duty for good

If you believe that younger generations deserve a better shot at achieving the great Australian dream of homeownership, this week in NSW Parliament is one of the most important in our history.

We all know the problem – more and more young people feel like the dream is out of reach. Over the past two decades, the share of first home buyers under 35 has declined from 67 per cent to 61 per cent.

Competition is fierce for first home buyers. Axing stamp duty could help. Credit:Peter Rae

Homeownership is critically important to the wellbeing and prosperity of all our people. The economic security and financial independence it offers foster freedom and confidence about the future.

Homeownership means sanctuary, privacy and stability as people raise their children, as well as a sense of responsibility for the common good because it gives you a tangible stake in the nation and its future.

You cannot put a price on what homeownership means to aspirational Australians, and younger generations deserve a share in that too. That is why we are introducing new legislation to remove one of the biggest barriers to homeownership: stamp duty.

Stamp duty can add up to 2.5 years to the time required to save the upfront costs of buying a median-priced home in NSW, even for a household with a median income setting aside 15 per cent in savings.

The great Australian dream has become a nightmare for many. Credit:Louise Kennerley

That’s two years on top of the time it takes to save an actual deposit, and in a market like Sydney, everyone knows what two years can do to house prices.

Our First Home Buyer Choice initiative will give hopeful homeowners the ability to cut stamp duty completely out of the equation.

First home buyers purchasing a home for up to $1.5 million will be able to choose between the traditional upfront stamp duty payment, or a much smaller annual property fee, similar to council rates.

For many people, choosing the annual property fee won’t just remove one of the biggest up-front barriers to buying a home – it will also mean a significant tax saving if they go on to sell their first home in the short-to-medium term to meet the needs of a growing family or a job in a new location.

Critically, freedom to choose is at the heart of our plan. And just as critically, the NSW Labor opposition wants to stop young people from ever getting that choice.

They are already running a fear campaign based on fabrication and smear. Remember Labor’s shameless “Medi-scare” campaign? This is worse because the aim is to actually deprive aspiring homeowners from ever getting a choice that gets them into a home faster.

Labor’s choice is that you don’t get one. It’s stamp duty for every home buyer – forever.

That’s no way to deal with the generational challenge of homeownership. Labor’s opposition would be more credible if they had an alternative policy. But just like their scare campaign, the policy cupboard is empty.

The clock is ticking here. Any delay Labor causes to our legislation will materially hurt first home buyers because as soon as the legislation passes parliament – which could be as early as the end of this month – people will be able to choose the property fee option and get a refund on their stamp duty from January 16.

Axing stamp duty is not the only way we are helping people own a home faster.

We’re fast-tracking land supply, and accelerating infrastructure delivery to support the construction of new homes. And we are reducing even more up front costs to cohorts with especially urgent needs, with a new shared equity scheme for single parents, older singles and some key workers.

Our recent budget’s $2.8 billion on housing is the biggest investment in homeownership in decades. But it’s about so much more than just record funding.

This is about the kind of nation we want to be. And I believe we cannot have an Australia that cannot house its children.

We can – and we must – harness new ideas to get more people into their own home faster, and secure more prosperity for the next generation.

That’s our government’s focus over the coming weeks: overcoming the opposition to pass this important legislation, to give first home buyers a new choice and new hope to achieve the great Australian dream.

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