What limits politicians in their ability to address Global Warming? What reforms do we need to help them?
Letters
Hobart has made it into the big league! – Leo Foley
Jan 23, The Mercury
House prices have pushed us into the top 20 of unaffordable cities in the world.
After seven years of boom, the legacy of this government, elected by ordinary
working people, will be a city owned by the elites.
It need not be so. House building is a competitive industry, and with proper
foresight on trade skills, costs will always tend to rise only in line with wages
and the general price index.
The real ‘boom’ has been in land price. Speculation in real estate has pushed
land beyond the price of Tasmanian wages. Young Tasmanian families are excluded
from the market. That demands government action, not with more subsidies and
grants that benefit only existing owners, but real tax reform that will overcome
the existing market failure.
Associate Professor (Economics) Graeme Wells points the way in his letter,
23 January. He says “There would be significant efficiency gains in moving from
the present transactions tax to a flat-rate land tax.” Not only would it be
efficient, it would also be equitable.
The Labor government, under pressure on so many fronts, still has the opportunity
to create conditions of prosperity for all Tasmanians, and to make home ownership
a reality for following generations. Will it rise to the occasion?
Leo Foley
Lenah Valley, Tasmania
Justice the Aim
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History’s Lessons – Terry Dwyer The Australian |
Past EventsCheck out some of the events we have done in the past 2007 True Cost Economics report Frank de Jong’s “Tools of Sustainability Tour” Land Supply & Housing Affordability – more detailsThe real issue forcing land prices up are the huge economic rents available to land speculators. With Jeff Kennett’s move away from Site Value rating to Capital Improved Value (CIV) rating, land speculators can purchase land, sit on it and wait for the property to grow in value. The constant attack on State Land Taxes ensures a continuing trend for them to be weakened, sending the signal to the marketplace that hoarding land is appropriate. On a local level, the combination of these 2 factors has seen a growth of vacant land in inner urban areas in Melbourne. We believe the reduced supply of land from this speculative trend has applied greater pressure on land prices than Melbourne’s 2030 boundary. The huge upward trend in land prices happened well before the 2002 announcement of 2030. Challenge Camp PhotosA picture tells a thousand words!
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