Latest news with #AndrewBragg
Perth Now
6 hours ago
- Business
- Perth Now
'Think twice': Libs warned on anti-build to rent stance
The voice of the Australian property industry is urging the federal coalition to think twice about trying to block the construction of new rental homes. The opposition plans on Wednesday to move a motion in the Senate to halt the Labor government's Build to Rent program, arguing that it's against the national interest because it gives tax advantages to foreign investors. But the Property Council of Australia, which has more than 2300 members, says attempting to block the building of some 80,000 new rental homes in the middle of a housing affordability crisis is wrong. "This is wrecking ball policy," Chief Executive Mike Zorbas said on Wednesday. "The main game, the only game in Australia right now, should be the rapid supply of new housing." The Build to Rent legislation passed the Senate during the last parliament, ahead of Labor being returned to power at the federal election in May. Under the laws that applied from January 1 this year, the rate of withholding tax paid by developers halved from 30 to 15 per cent and the capital works deduction rate rose from 2.5 to four per cent, allowing developers to write off the cost of construction faster. Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg, who is leading the Senate motion, says the program is effectively a "tax cut for foreign investors". "Labor's obsession with foreign landlords and big super taking over Australian housing once again prioritises vested interests over Australia's national interest," he said on Wednesday. "The Australian Dream is about people - not corporations." Under the build to rent model, developers build and retain ownership of properties for rental purposes. The federal government has previously argued that the private market needs to do the heavy lifting to improve affordability and access to homes. Almost one-third of Australian households rent and that number is expected to rise in the years ahead. The government's Build to Rent measure will operate in addition to state and territory initiatives designed to support the Build to Rent sector. Under the legislation, at least 10 per cent of dwellings in a Build to Rent development must be affordable dwellings, which would be rented at 74.9 per cent or less of the market rate and have income thresholds for eligible tenants. The Property Council says build to rent housing offers high-quality, secure, long-term rentals in well-located areas and that the model is used in nations with economies similar to Australia's. But Senator Bragg says the coalition's priority is for Australians of all ages to own their own homes. The coalition's disallowance motion will go the Senate later on Wednesday.
The Age
20 hours ago
- Business
- The Age
Coalition picks its first fight with Labor – on housing ‘nightmare'
The Coalition will launch its first legislative attack on the federal government over housing, seeking to reverse a tax incentive that the building industry believes will deliver the country 80,000 new rental properties. Opposition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg said on Tuesday the Coalition would move in the Senate to disallow regulations for the government's build-to-rent program, describing them as a foreign investor tax cut that would drive people into a 'nightmare of lifelong renting'. Housing was one of the most important issues in the May election because of a sharp lift in house prices since 2020 and annual rental inflation climbing beyond 10 per cent a year in some capital cities. The Coalition promised first home buyers could make interest on their mortgage tax-deductible for five years, while the government committed to allowing new buyers to purchase a property with a 5 per cent deposit. The build-to-rent laws were passed by the parliament late last year, forming a key part of the government's target to build 1.2 million homes by mid-2029. The government is estimated to already be at least 260,000 properties behind on its target, with Treasury warning in an official briefing to Treasurer Jim Chalmers that on current policy settings it would fall short. Loading Bragg said the build-to-rent laws did little but reward foreign property investors while keeping people in rentals rather than helping them buy their own home. 'Labor's obsession with foreign landlords and big super taking over Australian housing once again prioritises vested interests over Australia's national interest. The Australian dream is about people – not corporations,' he said. 'The Coalition's priority is for Australians of all ages to own their own home. While the Coalition strongly supports foreign investment, it needs to fit with Australian culture and expectations.'
Sydney Morning Herald
20 hours ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
Coalition picks its first fight with Labor – on housing ‘nightmare'
The Coalition will launch its first legislative attack on the federal government over housing, seeking to reverse a tax incentive that the building industry believes will deliver the country 80,000 new rental properties. Opposition housing spokesman Andrew Bragg said on Tuesday the Coalition would move in the Senate to disallow regulations for the government's build-to-rent program, describing them as a foreign investor tax cut that would drive people into a 'nightmare of lifelong renting'. Housing was one of the most important issues in the May election because of a sharp lift in house prices since 2020 and annual rental inflation climbing beyond 10 per cent a year in some capital cities. The Coalition promised first home buyers could make interest on their mortgage tax-deductible for five years, while the government committed to allowing new buyers to purchase a property with a 5 per cent deposit. The build-to-rent laws were passed by the parliament late last year, forming a key part of the government's target to build 1.2 million homes by mid-2029. The government is estimated to already be at least 260,000 properties behind on its target, with Treasury warning in an official briefing to Treasurer Jim Chalmers that on current policy settings it would fall short. Loading Bragg said the build-to-rent laws did little but reward foreign property investors while keeping people in rentals rather than helping them buy their own home. 'Labor's obsession with foreign landlords and big super taking over Australian housing once again prioritises vested interests over Australia's national interest. The Australian dream is about people – not corporations,' he said. 'The Coalition's priority is for Australians of all ages to own their own home. While the Coalition strongly supports foreign investment, it needs to fit with Australian culture and expectations.'
West Australian
02-07-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Housing approvals in WA drop by 7.5 per cent and put the State's ambitious new homes goal at risk
Housing approvals dropped by 7.5 per cent in WA in May, putting them at higher than a year ago but the sluggish numbers mean the State is not on track to build enough houses to meet its target and win extra cash from the Federal Government. The Commonwealth has put bonus funding on the table for States that meet their share of the 1.2 million new homes five-year housing accord target. Nationally, building approvals grew by 3.2 per cent in May, but this was mainly driven by strong growth in Victoria and NSW, new data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed. Approvals in WA dropped 7.5 per cent from a month earlier. Federal Housing Minister Clare O'Neil saw green shoots in the data, with her office saying momentum was building nationally towards the targets. 'These positive trends show we're on the right track, but we'll keep doing the hard work so more Australians have access to affordable, secure housing,' a spokesperson from her office said. But shadow minister Andrew Bragg said the improvement was 'marginal'. The Property Council estimates WA will fall about 9.4 per cent short of its target to build about 129,700 new homes by mid-2029 if current building trends continue. Separate forecasts from the Master Builders show the State will be 3.4 per cent shy of its target – although this would drop to about 12 per cent below if building approval rates don't pick up. Master Builders WA chief executive Matt Stanton said the State was among the closest in the country to meeting its housing target. But a hurdle is Perth's long cultural and lifestyle attachment to lower-density living, with apartments and townhouses playing little role in the city's development. 'If we're going to meet demand on housing supply with the fastest growing population of any state and also an economy that's firing pretty close to on-all-cylinders, then we do need a higher and medium density construction … to make up a greater part of new developments moving forward,' he said. Property Council WA chief executive Nicola Brischetto said approvals too often didn't translate into building actually starting, so the data tended to be a bit volatile. 'The biggest barriers are the availability of builders, cost of construction, and the economic viability of many apartment projects,' she said. 'Workforce continues to be the biggest challenge … It's the physically being able to get stuff done, but also, when you've got a constrained labour market, that will put pressure on prices and drive costs up.' Ms Brischetto commended the WA Government for having concentrated heavily on easing workforce shortages but said now there also needed to be a focus on boosting productivity, through using more pre-fabricated and modular construction or adopting AI for scheduling and ordering.
Perth Now
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Iran-Israel missile attacks risk wider region conflict
Australia remains very concerned that the tit-for-tat bombing campaigns by Iran and Israel could spill into a wider conflict in the Middle East. "Israel has a right to defend itself, but we would be urging all parties for dialogue and de-escalation," federal frontbencher Amanda Rishworth told Nine's Today show on Monday. "There needs to be ... tensions brought down here, because the consequences will be significant if it spills over into a wider conflict." But Liberal MP Andrew Bragg said Israel was doing the world favour, given Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. "If we were in Israel's shoes, we would not tolerate a country nearby us getting a nuclear weapon," he told Today. "And so I think Israel is trying to stop that from happening - that's a good thing for humanity, because these guys are the worst regime anywhere on the planet." Israel and Iran began trading missile blows on Friday after the Israeli military launched an attacks with the stated aim of wiping out Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs. Iran vowed to "open the gates of hell" in retaliation. The onslaught continued into Sunday and Iran's health ministry said 224 people had been killed since Friday. Spokesman Hossein Kermanpour said on social media that 1277 other people were hospitalised, and asserted that more than 90 per cent of the casualties were civilians. Israeli rescue teams combed through rubble of residential buildings destroyed by Iranian missiles on Sunday, using sniffer dogs and heavy excavators to look for survivors after at least 10 people, including children, were killed, raising the two-day toll to 13.
