The Victorian Greens say introducing a 2 to 3 per cent levy on new developments would raise up to $13 billion over a decade.Credit:Photo:Paul Rovere
The state government wanted to impose a 1.75 per cent levy on building projects with more than three dwellings to raise about $800 million a year to fund 1700 social housing units. In return,the package would have included streamlined planning approvals Pallas argued would create $7 billion of economic uplift over a decade.
But with Victoria’s budget deficit expected toblow out to $19.5 billion this financial year,debt to rise to $162 billion in net terms by 2025,and the state a laggard in social housing,the Greens want the government to relitigate its Social and Affordable Housing Contribution package.
“Victoria is currently staring down the barrel of an unprecedented housing crisis that will only get worse without urgent action,” Greens leader Samantha Ratnam said.
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“A social housing levy would help raise billions that could be used to build more public housing in Victoria. Yet this government scrapped that opportunity when it caved to pressure from property developers and axed its proposed levy earlier this year.
“This is what happens when you let the property industry write your housing policy. It creates a housing system that puts the interests of developers over the community."
A Parliamentary Budget Office analysis for the Greens shows imposing a 2 per cent levy on new developments would rake in $8.2 billion over the next decade,while a 3 per cent levy would improve the budget bottom line by $12.4 billion.