Independent senators Jacqui Lambie and David Pocock have demanded a crackdown on foreign ownership in a bid to ease Australia’s housing crisis.
Joint senators are pushing the Labor government to implement changes towards negative leverage and reducing tax breaks on property investments.
They said the proposed changes could raise up to $60 billion over a decade, which could instead be spent on social and affordable housing.
The senators said they have asked the Parliamentary Budget Office to examine five possible changes to capital tax breaks and negative gearing.
Jacqui Lambie (pictured) and David Pocock (pictured) are pushing the Labor government to implement changes to negative gearing and reduce tax breaks on property investments.
The senators say the planned reforms would protect existing homeowners’ investments while encouraging the supply of new housing.
“We need to start making sensible changes,” Senator Pocock told the ABC.
“The major parties don’t want to talk about tax reform amid a housing crisis, but we have to.”
Senators say planned reforms include limiting capital gains tax cuts to investments and allowing landowners to maintain existing agreements.
They say it would protect current homeowners, while also aiming to prioritize buyers of existing homes over investors who can always buy new construction.
“If you’re looking at a negative reduction in a house, you can keep what’s already there before you make changes,” Senator Lambie said.
Senator Pocock added: “In future you will only (benefit from) the capital gains tax reduction if you invest in a new deal. »
They also called for an end to foreign ownership, fearing foreign buyers would appropriate property, often by parents for their children while they study in Australia.
“The other thing we can talk about that we don’t talk about is foreign ownership,” Senator Lambie said.
“Stop foreign ownership buying our housing system. These are the kinds of measures we need to take.
They also called for an end to foreign ownership, fearing foreign buyers would snatch up property, often from parents for their children while they study in Australia.
Jacqui Lambie says planned reforms are not a silver bullet to solve the housing crisis, but are necessary to reduce the current imbalance
Senator Lambie believes that the planned reforms are not a silver bullet to solve the housing crisis, but are necessary to reduce the current imbalance.
“We’re giving so many taxes to people, tax breaks to people who own these houses? This is beyond ridiculous,” she said.
Senator Pocock is confident Australians will support the planned reforms.
“Many polls and research show that the majority of Australians actually support changes to our property system,” he said.
Senators are now pushing the government to implement the reforms.
“They said they were going to deliver thousands of homes over 10 or 15 years, but that’s not enough,” Senator Lambie added.
“This is not going to stop the housing crisis. Show courage and start making more moves on the game board.’
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