Labor MPs are facing a slate of questions over falling house prices in some capital cities – which means they’re walking a bit of a messaging tightrope between wanting younger people to get into housing, and ensuring that people who already own housing don’t go way backwards. (Although a Resolve poll in Nine Newspapers this morning shows that of a poll of 1800 people, 54% supported lower house prices, while 11% said they were opposed).
Murray Watt says it’s a good thing if a bit of cooling in the auction market makes it easier for young Australians to buy a first home. He also points out that treasury modelling showed price growth would slow.
Allowing young Australians, in particular, to get into the housing market for the first time, was the central focus of our budget, and that’s why we put forward those changes around both negative gearing and capital gains tax. We’re not surprised to see some level of cooling in auction markets.
And if that makes it more possible for Australians to get into the housing market for the first time, that’s a good thing. So our modelling from Treasury did suggest that there may well be a short-term impact in housing prices, but that they would continue to grow over time.
Australia ‘as well prepared as we possibly could be’ for bird flu virus says environment minister The environment minister, Murray Watt, says a widespread outbreak of bird flu in Australia could severely impact wildlife, but that Australia is well prepared. So far, he says an outbreak in Western Australia is also nowhere near a poultry farm, but the government is working closely with the industry.