LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Sir – The Labor Government’s announcement around its so-called Territory Home Owner Bonus raises more questions about its fiscal approach.
While the Opposition welcomes the shift of focus onto new builds, there are niggling aspects to the generous concessions being offered.
Government is belatedly acting on what industry has been telling everyone – that the new build sector is bleak. New build figures are the lowest since records began and the construction sector in 2019 is half of what it was in 2016.
We acknowledge this may help, in some way, the sector and first home owners but we would like to know how much this new scheme will cost taxpayers and under what modelling and assumptions has it been designed?
How is it consistent with belt tightening in light of the fiscal crisis? And we’ve still not heard from anyone in the Government about what savings they are looking at.
What savings have they identified for this financial year and the outer years? How is the government reining in their spending?
The “just trust me” approach does not cut it.
Opposition Leader Gary Higgins (pictured)
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
The freedom of the press still furnishes that check upon government which no constitution has ever been able to provide – Chicago Tribune.
The situation generally in the Northern Territory is giving every indication that it’s rapidly spiralling out of control.
I suspect the NT Government’s reactions are too little, too late; and this latest scheme will likely end up being home owner bogus rather than bonus.
Just more opportunity for greedy property owners and builders to raise their prices taking into account these amounts. Helping no one.
Building a new house cost in excess of 600k with land.
Go anywhere else and just out of a capital city you’ll get the same for 300k.
I think our trades need to take a pay cut and stop expecting to make a fortune in their industries.
Some are getting paid more than doctors!
Most don’t care about giving good service to households [they] just look for big government money. They cry poor because they are only wanting the big money and don’t want to work for the crumbs.