After the NSW Government announced a $780 million shared-equity scheme, Greens MP and Greens Housing spokesperson Jenny Leong slammed the initiative for being “limited” in who is eligible, and not properly addressing the housing affordability crisis.
“The Coalition’s supposed “fix” for housing that’s been unveiled today won’t even touch the sides of the affordability crisis in this state” Newtown MP Leong said in a statement.
“So many people who are in desperate need of housing security will be left out and ineligible for this scheme.”
The scheme will support homeownership for up to 3000 eligible people per year, which includes teachers, nurses, police, single parents, and single people over 50. This means the state government will contribute up to 40% equity in new homes and 30% in existing properties valued under $950,000.
The homebuyer will need to contribute a minimum deposit of 2%, and receive a gross income of no more than $90,000 for singles and $120,000 for couples.
Greens back public housing as way out of affordability crisis
Ms Leong said that the government instead needs to focus attention on funding “masses” of public housing, investing in crisis accommodation and “putting renters rights at the heart of the solution to this housing crisis”.
Abigail Boyd MLC and Greens Treasury, Finance & Economy Spokesperson said “the housing crisis in NSW can’t be solved with these sorts of half-baked copycat ideas – we need bold reforms that reinstate housing as first and foremost a home and not a commodity.”
Ms Boyd agreed that social housing is the way to tackle housing affordability in NSW, saying “the Coalition government should be making a massive investment in public housing across the state”.
Premier Perrottet said the shared equity scheme would be an “opportunity for our frontline workers, our teachers, our nurses, our police officers, to get a leg up and get into the property market”.
Dominic Perrottet announced the shared-equity scheme on June 18. Photo: Facebook.
“We want to make sure that people right across our state are able to get their keys to their very first home” the Premier said.
The scheme is intended to trial participation of the state government in housing equity contributions, as NSW Premier Perrottet said that if successful, it could be extended to more people.
