Bracks Watch

Bracks' Victoria Follows NSW Into Housing Slump

Victoria is following New South Wales in dragging the rest of the nation into a housing slump, with housing starts across Victoria down 12.5% in the 12 months to Dec 31, 2005 [See The Age: NSW leads in house-building slump].

While the Bracks government while blame a general economic slowdown, the reality is that with the global and national economies stronger than they have been for years, it is not the broader economy, but the Bracks' restrictive approach to development that is stopping Victorians from building new houses. Just this week, a local councillor in suburban Melbourne complained to Brackswatch that limits on rural growth are seeing developers flee regional Victoria to middle suburban areas where the land simply isn't available for significant sized developments [See also Brackswatch: Bracks government destroys rural land values; Bracks Sardine City Exposed]. At the same time, the Bracks government is scaring owner builders and employers away from Victoria with new regulations, taxes [See Brackswatch: Bracks breaking another promise; Bracks Stops Charity With Fifteen-Fold Rise In Land Tax;], and lagging Victorian economic performance [See Brackswatch: Unemployment Under Bracks - Another Story Of Bracks' Underperformance].

The picture is clear: Victoria cannot afford another four years of the Bracks government's increased red tape, taxes and economic underperformance. Regional Victoria needs permission to grow. Urban Victoria needs to be protected from overdevelopment. All Victorians need an economic environment where employers are encouraged and facilitated, not loaded up with regulations, taxes and other obstacles to making a profit.

Labels: Housing, Rural, Tax

posted by Anonymous @ 7:25 AM