The Nationals leader and Member for Murray Plains, Peter Walsh, says the latest ABS data has simply confirmed what all Victorians know – home ownership under the Andrews Labor Government continues to slip further out of reach.
Mr Walsh says the latest blow to the Australian dream with Daniel Andrews at the helm is the shock drop in the number of new build approvals.
He says the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ building approvals data just released show in Victoria, total dwelling units approved in February fell 38.6 per cent for the month – well above the national average.
Accelerating the collapsing figures, which were down 11.9 per cent for the 12 months to January 2023.
“A fall in dwelling approvals always means a decrease in new housing stock coming onto the market,” Mr Walsh says.
“But a collapse of this magnitude not only cut housing availability, it will place serious stress on potential buyers because of the increased upward pressure on prices as buyers battle for limited inventory,” he says.
“These figures also compound the flip side of our worsening housing crisis with ongoing rental price increases and reduced borrowing capacity for Victorian home buyers.”
Mr Walsh says the hardest hit in this domino effect, caused by years of government mismanagement, will be those on the very fringe of the housing market – people without the financial reserves to compete for rental properties, let alone the staggering cost of buying a house.
And that, sadly, he says, can only add to our worsening homelessness issues.
“Whether its taxes, interest rates, borrowing capacity or supply of homes – every major metric for housing affordability is in reverse under Labor – and has been for some time,” Mr Walsh says.
“Fewer new homes mean more price rises, more heartache and heartbreak and more disruption and worse in people’s private lives,” he says.
“The Liberals and Nationals believe the keys to our own home can be the keys to a better life and that every Victorian deserves the chance to own their own piece of our great state.
“Instead of restricting supply through red tape and higher taxes, the State Government must be looking at all options to get more affordable homes built and bring more supply to market.”
