Brooke van Velden
ACT Housing spokesperson
The steady decline in Kiwis securing First Home Grants shows the abject failure of Labour’s housing policy.
There has been a 60 per cent drop in First Home Grant approvals in the first quarter of 2022, this is because the Government’s policies don’t address the root of the problem – building homes.
The Government has relentlessly borrowed and spent and pushed up the price of everything. The Reserve Bank added fuel to the fire by printing $60 billion. That cash has sent house prices through the roof. While interest rates are steadily climbing making mortgage repayments more and more unaffordable.
Labour’s answer is pumping more taxpayer money into an already inflated housing market, with an extra $148 million added to First Home Grants and First Home Loans in the Brain Drain Budget. They’re just making things worse.
In 2019, Treasury warned that homeownership assistance without dealing with supply could increase house prices. “Financial support is likely to increase prices when supply is constrained.”
Megan Woods is like a firefighter with a hose full of petrol. Pouring more taxpayer money into the housing market is only making the housing crisis worse.
The real issue with housing is not enough houses are being built, and not enough are being built because there’s an infrastructure shortage.
ACT has proposed local councils receive a payment equivalent to 50 per cent of the GST for every new dwelling constructed in its territory. This provides an incentive for councils to enable building and a means of covering infrastructure costs.
ACT believes in better, longer-lasting solutions. We need real change to ensure young Kiwis can achieve the dream of home ownership.
