Question Time: Housing - Stamp Duty Relief

Ms BURNETquestion to PREMIER, Mr ROCKLIFF

[10.30 a.m.]

According to the Housing Industry Association (HIA), your government's housing policy settings are all wrong. In today's Mercury, they have criticised your stamp duty relief for first home buyers of existing houses, which they say is driving up house prices. In their report, released at the end of last month, they clearly identified that your government's profligate spending on major projects, like the stadium, will lead to a major shortage of skilled labour. This will significantly drive up labour prices and prices for building materials, and make houses even more expensive to build in Tasmania. Will you commit to limiting stamp duty relief to new home builds only? Can you assure Tasmanians that the stadium will not increase new house prices and delays for Tasmanians?

ANSWER

Honourable Speaker, I thank the honourable member for the question. I don't support the link between the stadium and higher house prices, by any stretch of the imagination. We would not be building bridges, roads or any other key infrastructure across the state if we took your view of the world.

We're looking at various incentives when it comes to housing - stamp duty for first home buyers is one of those. We want Tasmanians to have a slice of their very own Tasmania and live, aspire to and actually achieve the great Australian dream of owning their own home. That must always be the objective, and our incentives are targeted towards exactly that.

We also need to ensure that homes are being built as affordably as possible. That's why our commitment to the National Construction Code (NCC) is so very important ‑ to reduce the cost of production and the cost of building when it comes to homes in Tasmania. I, for the life of me, cannot understand Labor's position on these matters at all.

Members interjecting.

Ms HADDAD - Point of order, honourable Speaker, Standing Order -

The SPEAKER - Order. The only one who has the call right now is the honourable leader of opposition business.

Ms HADDAD - Honourable Speaker, the Premier is going to an Order of the Day, which I believe contravenes the Standing Orders.

The SPEAKER - Question Time is not pre‑empting an Order of the Day. But I draw the Premier back to relevance because Labor was not part of the -

Ms Haddad - It's the first Order of the Day - the building bill.

The SPEAKER - You can ask questions; you can't bring on a motion that's the same as an Order of the Day or an amendment to bring it on - it doesn't apply in Question Time. The Standing Order is if you bring it in your motion [inaudible].

Ms Burnet - Can we stop the clock, please?

The SPEAKER - I draw the Premier back to relevance, because the question was not about the Labor party, so I ask the Premier to resume.

Members interjecting.

Mr ROCKLIFF - I respect the ruling. However, it was about the cost of housing, very clearly. I also want to make it very clear, in the last 16 seconds that I have, that the HIA have been clear: this is not a choice between a stadium or homes, as you may like to interpret it. Their central argument is around workforce capacity, not opposition to the project itself.

The SPEAKER - The honourable Premier's time has expired.

Supplementary Question

Ms BURNET - Clearly, the clock ran down on the answer. I'll just ask you that first part of the question: will you commit to limiting stamp duty relief to new home builds only?

Mr ROCKLIFF - Thank you. We're taking soundings from industry and Tasmanians when it comes to the formulation of our budget and, of course, directing incentives where we can to encourage home ownership and, indeed, the construction of affordable homes as well.

On the issue of workforce capacity, of course, with our high-vis army and other matters.

Ms BURNET - Point of order, Honourable Speaker. It was a simple supplementary question. I ask if the Premier could go to relevance?

The SPEAKER - I draw the Premier back to the question.

Mr ROCKLIFF - I do believe I answered the question, the first part of my answer to the supplementary about the budget, et cetera.

The premise of the question was about the cost of housing. There's no doubt that the National Construction Code and us freezing - will benefit Tasmanians.

The SPEAKER - The honourable Premier's time has expired.