Statutes Amendment (Budget Measures) Bill
Tuesday 12 September 2023
Ms CLANCY (Elder) (11:29): I rise today in support of the Statutes Amendment (Budget Measures) Bill 2023, which seeks to amend all legislation relating to any budget measures in our 2023-24 state budget, a budget I am proud of, a budget that is focused on housing, health and cost-of-living relief. We know so many people in our community are struggling with the rising cost of living, a rise that is not being matched by an equal rise in wages. That is why this budget includes a number of measures to assist people with these rising costs.
There is $44 million over five years to increase existing concessions in line with higher inflation. There is $5 million over four years in additional support for food relief organisations, such as Foodbank, who have their headquarters just over the train line from my electorate of Elder in the electorate of Badcoe. Over 420,000 South Australian households are eligible to receive a rebate of up to $500 on this financial year's electricity bills, and approximately 86,000 small businesses are eligible to receive a rebate of up to $650 off their electricity bills.
Families will benefit from $18.5 million in cost-of-living measures, with $100 discounts to 2024 public school materials and service charges and more than a million additional meals through the school breakfast program. This is the third school year that the $100 materials and service charge discount has been applied, bringing the total investment to $36 million over three years.
The school breakfast program will receive a $6.5 million boost, which is the largest investment of its kind in the state's history. It will see more than 1.4 million meals provided to South Australian children through breakfast programs at schools across the state over the next four years. I was really pleased to be at part of this announcement at the excellent school in my community Clovelly Park Primary School alongside principal Terena Pope, the Premier, the Treasurer and the Minister for Education.
Also in this budget is $32.1 million over four years to increase carer payments from July this year to foster and kinship carers. This includes an extra $50 per fortnight for general foster and kinship carers for each child or young person in their care under the age of 16 years as well as a 4.8 per cent boost to all carer payments to assist with growing cost-of-living pressures. We know family-based care is the preferred placement option for children and young people in care, so we need to do what we can to help these placements continue.
The increase in carer payments will assist carers with the day-to-day costs of caring for a child or young person, which all the parents and caregivers in here know can really add up. Increasing carer payments to better reflect the true cost of caring was a recommendation in Dr Fiona Arney's report of the Independent Inquiry into Foster and Kinship Care released late last year. I know it will help foster and kinship carers, who often reduce their working hours to enable them to care for vulnerable children.
While in the child protection space, I want to highlight another part of the budget, which I know did not get much airtime but which I am really proud of, that is, the Strong Start program. We have committed $6.1 million for family support services for at-risk first-time parents as early as possible, including connecting those facing parenting challenges with critical services. This sort of early intervention work is so important if we are to have any chance of reducing the number of children entering care. It is the right thing to do for these children, their families and our communities. It is even better for our state's financial position in the short and long term, so no matter which way you look at it, this work is incredibly important and beneficial.
The four pieces of legislation proposed for amendment in this bill are the Emergency Services Funding Act 1998, the First Home and Housing Construction Grants Act 2000, the Land Tax Act 1936 and the Stamp Duties Act 1923—100 years ago. I would like to thank our Treasurer, his team and everyone at the Department of Treasury and Finance who has helped bring to this place a state budget that, as I have outlined, includes the largest cost-of-living relief package in South Australia's history.
As a key priority of this budget, the Malinauskas Labor government is committed to delivering affordable housing for South Australians at a time when the dream of owning your home feels even harder to reach. Almost one-third of the residents in my electorate of Elder are renters, a number which jumps to as high as two-thirds in some areas. Weekly rent varies with a majority of residents, according to Census data in 2021, paying between $200 and $500 per week on their rent.
Given the impact the Reserve Bank of Australia's consistent interest rate rises and corporate profit-driven inflation has had on the cost of living since then, it would be safe to assume that right across the country, including in my community, more Australians are renting, and they are paying much more for it.
We understand the real drivers behind the increasing cost of living and the proactive and positive role government can play in relieving this stress for South Australians. That is why the 2023-24 state budget delivers major long-term investments in health, housing, and reducing the impact of cost of living. As part of this state budget, the bill before us today seeks to amend the Stamp Duties Act 1923 to provide stamp duty relief for eligible first-home buyers. Inserted sections 71DD and 71DE explain how relief will be applied from stamp duty in respect of certain purchases of new homes and land.
Stamp duty will be abolished for eligible first-home buyers who are buying a new home valued at up to $650,000, with relief progressively phased out for properties valued at up to $700,000. For the purchase of vacant land on which a new home will be built, stamp duty will be abolished on land valued at $400,000, with relief phased out for land valued at up to $450,000.
To be eligible for this stamp duty relief, the new home must be occupied as the principal place of residence, similar to existing requirements for the First Home Owner Grant, under the First Home and Housing Construction Grants Act 2000. It is estimated that this relief will save up to almost $30,000 for as many as 3,800 first-home buyers in South Australia each year. Part 3 of this bill seeks to amend section 7 of the First Home and Housing Construction Grants Act 2000, increasing the property value cap for eligibility for the $15,000 First Home Owner Grant from $575,000 to $650,000.
I recently invited the Premier and Treasurer to meet with Vanessa, Tim and baby Fletcher, who are currently living with Tim's parents in my electorate in St Mary's while they are saving for their first home. In support of Vanessa and Tim, and families just like theirs right across South Australia, our stamp duty relief, when combined with changes to the First Home Owner Grant, provide eligible first-home buyers total relief of up to almost $45,000 on the purchase of a new home.
But that is not all. The Malinauskas Labor government has also announced, in collaboration with HomeStart, a new lending product to allow eligible borrowers to build a new home with a deposit as low as 2 per cent. These initiatives, supported by the passage of this budget measures bill, provide immediate and substantial relief to South Australians pursuing the dream of owning their own home.
In addition to these measures to support South Australians purchasing their first home faster, we are also supporting tenants through residential tenancies legislation reform to make rental bonds more affordable, banning the practice of rent bidding, and protecting tenants' rights and information. Our plan for a better housing future includes building an additional 564 public homes, and stopping the planned sale by those opposite of 580 others.
It includes preparing around 700 additional affordable homes at Prospect, Bowden and Playford to be delivered under the National Housing Accord. It includes developing the former Adelaide bus station site on Franklin Street to deliver more than 130 social and affordable apartments. Our plan also includes delivering new housing developments for key workers in regional South Australia, and the single largest release of residential land in our state's history, delivering at least another 23,700 more homes in South Australia.
The bill before us today, in addition to all the relief I have just outlined, also includes further provisions to increase the supply of housing in our state. Part 4 of this bill inserts a new section, section 7A, into the Land Tax Act 1936 to introduce a 50 per cent land tax discount for eligible new build-to-rent properties. This discount reduces the land value of the parcel of land being used as an eligible build-to-rent property by 50 per cent until the 2039-40 land tax year.
The criteria for an eligible build-to-rent property include that a minimum lease term of at least three years must be offered to tenants to support more secure tenure arrangements. Regulations could outline further requirements to be deemed an eligible build-to-rent property, including but not limited to supporting the development of new affordable housing in build-to-rent properties and the minimum number of build-to-rent dwellings or units within a property. Build-to-rent projects where construction commences from July this year will be able to apply for this relief.
By supporting the uptake of investment in residential rental housing, we can further increase the supply of housing to create even more opportunities for renters. There is a lot to do, and I am proud to be part of a government that is doing it. I commend the bill to the house.
