By Brendan Rees
New housing lots for new homes in the City of Casey would be created to tackle the housing affordability crisis – if a Victorian Coalition Government is elected.
Opposition leader Matthew Guy has committed to fast-track the release of 290,000 residential housing lots in the hope of giving more Victorians the chance of owning their own home.
“This fast track will happen alongside our long-term strategic work to decentralise population growth to regional Victoria, to take pressure off Melbourne and ensure it does not become unliveable,” Mr Guy said.
An elected Liberal Nationals Government would fast-track the completion of the planning of all metropolitan Precinct Structure Plans by 30 June 2020.
Mr Guy said housing lot prices in Casey had increased 35 per cent, jumping from an average of $270,000 in 2016, to $365,000 in 2017.
For the outer areas of Melbourne the price of a housing lot has spiked by 54 per cent under Labor, Mr Guy added.
South Eastern Metropolitan MP, Inga Peulich, MLC said housing prices in Casey had “spun out of control.”
“The Andrews Labor government has made it harder to live in Casey by introducing 12 new taxes and turning a blind eye to inflated housing prices,” she said.
“Fast-tracking housing developments in Casey will help first-time homebuyers and residents by alleviating the cost of living pressures.”
However, Cranbourne Information and Support Service (CISS) executive officer Leanne Petrides said while the Liberal’s policy may assist a number of people purchase a home of their own, there were still more than 82,000 Victorian families and individuals on the public housing waiting list.
“The most important policy both parties could commit to in order to address housing affordability would be to invest heavily in public housing,” she said.
“Clients we work with at CISS are often paying more than 60 per cent of their income in rent, and many are on the precipice of homelessness. All they want is safe, secure and affordable housing for their families.”
Member for Cranbourne Jude Perera said Matthew Guy could not be trusted when it came to housing.
“When in Government, he rezoned land overnight to line the pockets of Liberal Party donors, while cutting funding to the schools and hospitals our growing suburbs need,” he said.
“We’re boosting housing affordability through our Homes for Victorians package – slashing stamp duty for first home buyers, doubling the first home owner grant in regional Victoria and giving first home owners the chance to co-purchase their house through the HomesVic shared equity scheme.”
Shadow Minister for Planning, David Davis said: “While local MP Luke Donnellan wakes up in his trendy inner-city suburb, he has no idea about the housing affordability crisis looming 45kms away in his electorate, and the cost of living pressures faced by his constituents.”
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