Bracks: Breaking Another Promise
The Bracks' government will break another promise today, when they release their new tax of up to $10,000 on the construction of new family homes in the outer suburbs. While Deputy Premier Thwaites told a conference just last month that there would be no new charges on home construction, the Bracks government seems to have decided to go ahead and slug the young families who move to these areas anyway.Yesterday the Urban Development Institute of Australia's chief executive, Tony de Domenic, said the institute had taken Mr Thwaites at his word and if a tax were now introduced, it would prove that the Government could not be trusted. - The Age: Bracks to reveal fringe housing tax
In a further display of Bracks government bias, they are arguing that this tax is in order to pay for much needed infrastructure in these outer suburban areas. However the funds will go into general revenue; and the families already struggly to afford a home need to remember that when inner city public transport users needed to be bailed out, the Bracks government coughed up a billion without asking hardly a question.
The Bracks Government is desperate to prove the success of it's Melbourne 2030 plan to force more Melburnians into apartments in the suburbs and increase their dependence on public transport. As we have seen with both the parking tax and this new tax, only the rich can afford to drive a car or own a family home under the Bracks government. Not everyone wants to live in an apartment, and in a land rich country like Australia, everyone should have the opportunity to build their dream house in the suburbs. Bracks' doesn't get this, and never will.
[Update 17/11/2005: Gay Not Socialist has correctly dubbed this the Australian Dream Tax]
[See Technorati: News and Politics; Victorian Politics;
Steve Bracks; Politics; Broken Promises Melbourne; Victoria]
posted by JP @ 10:08 AM
4 Comments:
"in a land rich country like Australia, everyone should have the opportunity to build their dream house in the suburbs. Bracks' doesn't get this, and never will."
And they still have that opportunity. The policy is closer to recognising the actual cost of sprawl (more infrastructure spend per house - roads, libraries and other public amenities).
In a more environmentally sustainable society curbing urban sprawl is a political responsibility.
Planning Institute of Australia director state president Trevor Budge said he believed the levy would be passed on to property buyers in the form of higher prices.
When asked whether he thought developers would add the cost of the levy to the price of land, he said: "I think, realistically, they will" ... pass on the extra costs
Bracks disagrees. What a wally he is.
Note Bracks didn't ask inner city voters to cough up a billion dollars to fund his public transport bailout; nor did he ask country voters to cough up $500 million to pay for the projects he announced for rural Victoria in Monday.
HA ha ha ha - who voted for this wally?
$10 billion surplus from Kenett is gone!!!
Just announced $2 billion surplus for end of '05.
Is Bracks an idiot, or just really really really bad at maths?
lets help.
$5,000 state first home owners' grant PLUS $7,000 federal first home owners' grant MINUS $10,000 state infrastructure tax EQUALS $2,000 for first home owners.
Is it just me, or is Bracksie trying to grab the federal funds he couldn't get from Johnnie at the premiers' meeting?
There is also an other problem with Bracks' aim to get more people into units/apartments - they cost more than a new three bedroom house!!! Unless you go to an area where even a 195cm, 130 kg man would be a little scared to live.
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