Housing Policy

HOUSING POLICY: FIXING THE HOUSING AND RENTAL CRISIS

The great Australian dream of owning your own home is increasingly becoming out of reach for many Queenslanders as housing supply dwindles, housing demand increases, and construction costs soar. Even finding a rental has become extraordinarily difficult, with vacancy rates in urban and regional areas across the state often falling below one percent. In the past five years, homelessness in Queensland has risen by 22%.

The causes of our national housing crisis are many and complex, however, it is primarily an issue of too little supply and too high demand. One Nation’s policies will be effective in reducing demand and increasing supply, while also providing some other innovative solutions to improve affordability.

OUR POLICIES

Reducing demand by lowering immigration

Australia is experiencing the biggest two-year population surge in the nation’s history under Labor’s record immigration. Australia is accepting about 7,000 new arrivals per week, and the national population has surged to 27 million. This includes about 2.3 million foreign workers, and more than 700,000 international students. All of these people need somewhere to live, absorbing the majority of available rental properties in the country.

One Nation would reduce demand for housing and rental accommodation in Australia by substantially lowering immigration to a level that can be sustained in the long term.

Increasing supply by banning foreign ownership

Australians cannot own residential property in a number of countries whose citizens are permitted to buy it in Australia. This is fundamentally unfair. Compounding this are the recent rises in mortgage rates, which have forced many Queenslanders to sell their homes; about $8-9 million worth of this real estate is rapidly bought up every day by foreign citizens.

Other countries also experiencing housing issues have acted to ban foreign ownership in recent years, including New Zealand and Canada.

One Nation would increase the supply of housing to Australians and Queenslanders by advocating a ban on foreigners owning residential property. Foreign owners would be given sufficient notice and time to put their properties on the market.

Investing superannuation

Affordability is also a key factor in our national housing and rental crisis, with families needing to earn at least six figures just to service loans or save for a deposit.

One Nation will offer an option for an individual’s superannuation to be invested in their home (primary residence only) by the managing super fund. Upon a sale of the property, proceeds commensurate with the superannuation investment would be returned to the fund.

Reducing costs

Government fees, taxes, charges, and duties make up to 45% the cost of purchasing or building a new home. Many of these were originally meant to be dismantled following the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

One Nation will seek to lower housing costs by reviewing all government imposts for their impact and effectiveness, with a view to reducing or eliminating them to make new homes more affordable. With respect to ongoing housing costs and in light of insurance premiums rising on the back of escalating crime, One Nation will also seek to eliminate state government stamp duty on insurance payments.

Tax-free room rental and granny flats

In an effort to increase accommodation supply, One Nation would seek to allow home owners to rent rooms in their primary residence to a tenant tax free. In addition, One Nation will advocate the removal of any restrictions on renting ancillary dwellings – known as ‘granny flats’ – to tenants other than immediate family members. This One Nation policy has already been adopted by the South Australian government, and we will seek to implement it in Queensland as well.

Regulatory reform and increased land supply

One of the biggest hurdles to creating more housing supply is the bureaucratic delay involved in land releases and building approvals. One Nation will seek regulatory reform and increase land supply by:

• streamlining and simplifying land releases and building approvals;
• identifying and releasing under-utilised government-owned land for residential development; and
• collaborating with councils to expedite zoning changes for residential development in appropriate areas.

Affordable, low-cost housing

With the average cost of building a new home in Australia approaching $500,000, many people seeking to enter the housing market for the first time have been effectively locked out of it. One Nation will seek to increase the supply of low-cost, more affordable housing by providing incentives to the private sector and establishing partnerships with community organisations to develop affordable housing for low-income families and individuals.

Stopping the rent tax

For many years, indigenous activists have been urging that Australian property owners ‘pay the rent’ to traditional owners: giving aboriginal groups or corporations money in exchange for the privilege of living in our own country. One Nation will be steadfast in opposing any move to enshrine such racially divisive nonsense into Queensland and Australian laws.

One Nation will announce further information and associated policies relating to Queensland over the course of the election period.

More Information 

1. Cost of housing in regional Queensland

2. The price of owning a home is out of control

3. Housing crisis and the cost of tax in the price of a home

4. Speech to the Senate on, among other things, housing costs