Election pitch: LNP to scrap stamp duty for first homebuyers
First homebuyers would be spared hefty stamp duty costs if building their own house under the Queensland opposition’s election plan.
Opposition Leader David Crisafulli will deliver his reply speech to the state budget on Thursday, using the opportunity to lay out his party’s housing proposal.
First homebuyers who build their own house would not have to pay any stamp duty – saving more than $20,000 – under the Liberal National Party plan, according to leaked reports.
Housing is a major election target given the surging prices across Queensland, with recent data revealing Brisbane has become the second most expensive city in Australia to buy.
The Miles government introduced an increased stamp duty threshold for first homebuyers in the state budget on Tuesday, with about 10,000 buyers a year set to benefit.
Another election promise Crisafulli will unveil is a shared equity scheme where the government would help potential homebuyers with at least a 2 per cent deposit to close the gap on the purchase.
It would be available for 1000 Queenslanders to begin with, where a LNP government would offer 30 per cent equity on new homes and 25 per cent on existing dwellings.
A similar policy is in place in NSW and Victoria.
The federal government is also pushing to legislate a help-to-buy scheme – offering 40 per cent on new homes and 30 per cent on existing – which has been resisted by the opposition.
The LNP will take Labor’s major house-building policy further by promising one million homes, including social housing, by 2044 instead of 2046.
Crisafulli has been under pressure to announce his party’s policy plans ahead of the election.
Deputy Premier Cameron Dick called on the opposition leader to step out of the shadows and show Queenslanders what they would be voting for on October 26.
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“We’re looking forward to David Crisafulli saying something about housing, not just a slick slogan,” Dick said on Wednesday.
Crisafulli had come under fire for promising last week to accept all the government’s budget measures sight unseen.
He argued Queenslanders would want to see an incoming government deliver fully funded, underway projects instead of ripping out the rug.
The state budget included major cost-of-living relief for Queenslanders, including $3.8 billion in new concessions, despite plunging the bottom line into the red with a $2.6 billion deficit.
