I still don’t think that this will succeed with Albo’s poltroons, but a backfire would be useful:
The Greens have told Labor that leaving negative gearing unchanged for existing property investors while winding back the tax break for new entrants could be part of a deal to get the minor party’s support for the Albanese government’s latest housing legislation.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has repeatedly ruled out negotiating with the Greens to win support for Labor’s Help to Buy scheme, although the minor party has expressed its willingness to discuss a compromise.
Mr Albanese told a closed-door Labor caucus meeting on Tuesday the government wanted to help Australians shut out of the housing market.
“Help to Buy is a practical scheme to help people into homeownership,” Mr Albanese told the caucus. “It will go through the House [of Representatives] this week and will be blocked in the Senate by the Liberals and the Green party voting together.”
On the heels of the tax-broken promise, Albo is not going to roll on negative gearing as well. He wouldn’t anyway, given such “grandfathering” of negative gearing reform lost the 2019 election, and Albo is in it for the power, not the country.
This is largely a stunt by The Greens.
But they could still succeed in killing “help-to-buy”, which is the worst imaginable policy for future house prices and market access.
The notion that the taxpayer should become an active equity partner in specufesting at entry-level prices will drive them higher for everybody.
It is reckless, beyond belief.
So, hopefully, The Greens stick to their guns and accidentally kill it.
