Visa refund to lure back thousands of international students and backpackers By Lisa Visentin and Mike Foley January 19, 2022 As many as 56,000 international students and 24,000 backpackers are expected to take advantage of a visa fee refund scheme in the coming months, as part of a federal government bid to lure them back to Australia to help revive the economy and plug critical worker shortages. Overseas students and backpackers who arrive in Australia will be able to apply for the rebate scheme from Wednesday, which will be worth $630 for students and run for eight weeks and worth $495 for working holidaymakers, running for twelve weeks. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a visa rebate scheme to entice international students and backpackers back to Australia to help fill critical worker shortages.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen Announcing the measure on Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison pitched the scheme as a “thank you” to students for coming back and “continuing to choose Australia”, and called for backpackers to “come on down”. “But we also want them to come here and be able to fill some of these critical workforce shortages, particularly those who are working and being trained in healthcare, aged care, those types of sectors, that will be incredibly helpful,” Mr Morrison said......
The Government can't comprehend that students and backpackers won't be able to afford the exorbitant accomodation costs in Australia.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/co...d/news-story/8232b9f4e1b19f8cb0a492941b57b31a Bureaucratic morass in housing markets must end Robert Gottliebsen More dwellings are needed in Victoria to keep up with demand. The chairman of the parliamentary inquiry into housing affordability and supply, Jason Falinski, made a stunning revelation this week: about half the cost of a home and land package comprises state and local government charges. For me that statement took a while to sink in, but when it did I was horrified. Those charges are added to the price of dwellings and that means that about half of new home bank lending in Australia is required to pay for local and state government bureaucracies and their taxes. In the process, a vast number of Australians are being priced out of the housing market and we are creating a terrible divide in our community. Just as bad, we now have a huge bill for social housing so a substantial amount of these taxes have to be diverted to giving people accommodation that they otherwise could afford. And then come the costs generated by the bureaucracies. Before detailing this tragedy, I need to acknowledge that the Falinski figure comes from a lobbyist, Housing industry Australia, and many people challenge it. Due to the component complexities of the 50 per cent estimate, there will always be controversy. But my check of builders and developers of both apartments and house-land packages indicates that average figures around the 40 to 50 per cent mark are about right. And it really doesn’t matter whether the actual figure is 50 or 40 per cent: it’s clearly enormous. State and local governments desperately need that revenue, so are no mood to give it back. But there are a number of strategies they can adopt to at least reduce the burden and start the process of making housing more affordable and reducing the need for banks to lend vast sums. The charges that are most often quoted are GST and stamp duty, but in many ways they are not the biggest problem. We need to start the rectification process in other areas. State and local governments, particularly in NSW and Victoria, employ vast armies of bureaucrats to delay approvals by setting complex rules with conflicting jurisdictions. Whether a developer/builder is buying an apartment or a cottage in Melbourne or Sydney, the approval process becomes a total nightmare. In apartments, this continues into the building process. The experienced developer/builders know what’s ahead and add the estimated costs on to the dwelling price. Sometimes a developer is lucky and there is a smooth ride. On other occasions, it’s horrendous. In Victoria, there is a tax on each permit and sometimes scheming public servants make sure the permit process is repeated to boost revenue. In extreme cases, delays can last 10 years. NSW plays similar bureaucratic games to Victoria and although they are different, the outcome is the same – long delays and lots of uncertainty, so the banks have to lend more money. Apartments have been a big NSW target, contributing to the swing to outer suburban houses. In other states, the antics used to boost costs are usually not as silly, but they too are dragged into the price escalation game. Sadly, the community impacts of these state and local government price escalation games are about to multiply. At the moment, migration is at a standstill, few students are arriving and the economy is slowing under Omicron. Yet the number of dwellings available for rent has fallen to a historic low. Once migration resumes and students return, we’re going to see big rises in rents. Until recently, there were a substantial number of apartments in Melbourne available but the actual number was always less than it appeared because many Chinese-owned properties are vacant. They are seen as a hedge against what might happen in China or Hong Kong. A large number of cashed-up Australian expats have returned and are familiar with living in small apartments. They couldn’t believe how cheap Melbourne apartments had become and purchased a large number that were previously available for rent. In Sydney, Meriton uses the Airbnb system plus quarantine to avoid large numbers of empty apartments. There is not a large reservoir of empty rental apartments to take students and migrants. Rents will rise. According to Falinski, NSW needs to build 42,000 dwellings a year just to keep up with demand. In Victoria, that figure looks to be larger. In our two largest states by population, building rates are not matching these levels, in part because of the delays and bureaucratic tangles. In other words, underlying demand is above supply. In Sydney, a number of large Chinese developers tried to enter the apartment development business and even though they were ready for bureaucratic tangles, the NSW approval morass is so chaotic that they threw in the towel. Events in China will have also played a role. If we are going to overcome the problem of inflated dwelling prices and shortages, we first have to recognise underlying causes. Sadly, we have not yet reached that stage. But the looming big rise in rents and ballooning social housing shortages will start the process and that focus will almost certainly come at a time of higher interest rates. Once we understand the problem, we can begin on the solutions. Any solution will need to start with a streamlined and easy-to-understand approval process. That does not mean an “anything goes” rule system, but the bureaucratic morass in property approvals must end. That will quickly reduce costs and increase supply. Then we can start on the taxing process to see whether it’s possible to raise money in a way that does not cause severe social disruption and distort our banking system. I explained earlier in the week how excess housing lending has starved businesses of cash. Robert Gottliebsen Business Columnist
https://www.smh.com.au/property/new...m-of-a-holiday-home-over-20220120-p59pw4.html ‘Missed the boat’: Is the dream of a holiday home over? By Tawar Razaghi January 22, 2022 Average Sydney families still dreaming of snapping up a summer home on the cheap may have “missed the boat”, as staggering figures reveal a dramatic price rise for properties in popular NSW holiday spots. Property values in coastal hotspots have risen sharply over a five-year period, with areas like Coffs Harbour (61 per cent) and Kiama (81 per cent) surging, while in Byron Bay the median house price has more than doubled since 2016, according to Domain data. Median house prices in the local government area of Kiama reached $1,360,000, growing 81.3 per cent in the past five years to September 2021 on Domain data. It now rivals Sydney’s median house price. Experts warn that the halcyon days of snapping up a humble beach shack have passed and fear that average families have been priced out of the holiday home dream. “You have missed the boat, it’s gone,” said buyer’s agent and chief executive of propertybuyer.com.au, Rich Harvey. “A lot of people have seen that ship sail into the distance.” Most of these regions had median house prices around the $500,000 mark five years ago. Today, they are worth closer to $1 million, jumping up to as much as 112 per cent in that time. Even far-flung coastal areas such as Bega Valley, which takes in Bermagui, Tathra and Merimbula, have seen the median house price climb to $720,000, an increase of 75.7 per cent. “You don’t find the average Aussie battler has a holiday house,” Mr Harvey said, adding that his father paid $70,000 for a Central Coast beachfront fibro beach shack in the early 1970s. “If you’re looking at getting anything under $1 million you’re going to be driving at least four hours from Sydney. “Even think about a three-hour drive north, anything up that way is $2 million. The answer is pretty much you can’t [buy for under a million]. Even that doesn’t guarantee you a water view.” In Nelson Bay, more than two hours’ north of Sydney, a buyer purchased a four-bedroom, two-bathroom, two-car space unit with water views for $2.5 million, solely as a holiday home. The median house price in the Port Stephens local government area, which includes Nelson Bay, reached $690,500 in September 2021, a five-year jump of 22.4 per cent. Agents are reporting that Sydneysiders are going back to inspect holiday properties in coastal towns like Nelson Bay, which is a less than three-hour drive from Sydney, after holidaying there.Credit:Kate Geraghty On the Central Coast, the median house price is $870,000, jumping 52.6 per cent, or $300,000, in the past five years. For Sydneysider Gemma Cadwallader, the only way she could afford to buy a holiday home at Avoca Beach for $1.2 million at the beginning of 2021 was to trade in her small Rozelle apartment and rent in the city instead. Gemma Cadwallader bought her holiday home at the start of 2021 and the value has since almost doubled, according to the selling agent. “I wouldn’t be able to afford it now. I would definitely have been priced out now,” said the 46-year-old who works in advertising. She said what was originally intended as a holiday home has become more than that now. “I see my rental in Randwick as a bolthole, where we work and go to school then we come to our holiday home as our relaxing, free time [on weekends].“ Her selling agent Paul Hills of The Agency Central Coast said her property would easily be worth close to double now. “The Central Coast market is still booming, the first couple of weeks of January have been really busy,” he said, adding that Sydney buyers were coming to open homes they sighted while on their holidays. The Central Coast continues to be a popular holiday home market for Sydney buyers with the commute to the region as long as some commutes within Greater Sydney.Credit:Steven Siewert It’s a similar story in coastal areas south of Sydney, with property prices surging in holiday havens like Gerringong, Wollongong, Shoalhaven and Kiama. The median house price for the Kiama local government area now rivals Sydney at $1,360,000, growing 81.3 per cent over the five-year period. “The eastern side of town, anything with a view of the beach or close to the beach, you can’t buy for under $2 million, or there is very little,” said Neil Campbell, of Ray White Gerringong, who only closed up shop for a few days over the summer. Gerringong has become an exclusive holiday enclave for well-to-do Sydneysiders who are snapping up expensive South Coast getaways. “There wouldn’t be a property that hasn’t doubled in value prior to COVID and some homes in Gerroa have tripled in value. It’s extraordinary.“ A property in Gerroa that struggled to sell with an asking price of $2.7 million before COVID sold in December for $7.1 million. Most holiday home buyers at the top end of the market are cashed up, successful Sydneysiders or expats, Mr Campbell said, with the majority not renting them out throughout the year. “It’s pushed local families, particularly younger people, where they can’t buy in Gerringong at all. It’s just gone beyond reach for them,” he said.
The government here sit on their hands and do nothing due to self interest and short term self preservation. Too much money tied up in RE which makes it unpopular for them to kill the monster they created. Majority of older voters hold property. Majority of large investors hold property. Majority of taxes raised come from property. Majority of politicians heavily invested in property. When it finally bites them in the ass it will bite severely but like all things, the lower income class probably suffer the most.
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...-cost-of-living-concerns-20220121-p59q3o.html Feeding the family tops voters’ cost of living concerns By Lisa Visentin January 23, 2022 The price of groceries is the top concern of voters when it comes to hip pocket expenses, as Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese prepare for cost of living pressures to be a key election battleground. In an exclusive survey for The-Sun Herald and The Sunday Age, 42 per cent of Australians said groceries and other basic shopping needs was the biggest cost of living pressure – and was the top order issue for lower, middle and high-income earners alike. The cost of groceries and other basic shopping needs was the biggest cost of living pressure for Australian voters across all income brackets.Credit:Rhett Wyman For a vast majority of voters, cost of living pressures are a major election issue, with 86 per cent rating it as important to their decision; while 16 per cent said it was a single priority issue for them, eclipsed only by the handling of COVID. After groceries, a further 35 per cent said utility bills were their leading cost of living pressure, while 23 per cent nominated insurance costs and 21 per cent said car-related costs, such as fuel, rego, maintenance and tolls. This was followed by 19 per cent who said the cost of buying or renting a home was a key issue in a survey of 1607 people by Resolve Political Monitor between January 10 to 15, which asked them to select up to two cost of living pressures that most concerned them. As average petrol prices in many parts of Australia climbed to record levels late last year, Mr Morrison sought to lay the foundations for a cost of living campaign, claiming the cost of fuel, electricity and interest rates would rise if the Coalition lost government at the next election. Labor rejected the claim as a scare campaign and has claimed it will ease cost of living pressures by embracing renewables to reduce energy costs, cutting taxes on electric vehicles and reducing childcare costs. Resolve director Jim Reed said no party had a significant lead on the issue, with 29 per cent believing the Coalition were better at keeping living costs lower, compared with 28 per cent for Labor, 9 per cent for the minor parties, while 34 per cent were undecided. “In a free market economy governments don’t control prices, of course, which is why no single party is seen to lead on keeping living costs down,” Mr Reed said. “When it comes to cost of living pressures, groceries top the bill for all income brackets, and are a particular pinch point for those on lower incomes. That’s not surprising given that they’re a necessary fixed cost that affects everyone, whereas housing, car and associated insurance costs only affect particular groups.” On housing, 58 per cent of Australians agree that young people will never be able to buy a home, with just 26 per cent of renters believing they will be able to afford a home in the next decade. Any rise in food prices over the December quarter will be evident in the latest consumer price index data to be released next week, with ANZ research forecasting a rise of 0.8 per cent for the quarter. “This is about twice the pace we’ve seen on average over the past five years of data,” senior economist Adelaide Timbrell said. “Beef is perhaps the most extreme example of this, with 10.9 per cent price growth over the year to September 2021, versus 1.3 per cent for all food.” “Shortages of food in supermarkets, due to the lack of truck drivers and staff available to fill shelves, is also leading to a lower likelihood of discounts on many items, which can add to the average household’s grocery bill.”
Cost of living Q: Thinking about the cost of living, which of the following cost of living pressures are of most concern to you and your family. You can pick up to two options. The cost of groceries and other basic shopping 42% Utility bills, e.g. gas, electricity and water 35% Insurances, e.g. health, life and home 23% Car costs, e.g. fuel, rego, maintenance and tolls 21% The cost of buying a home, including deposit and repayments 19% The cost of renting a home 19% The prospect of higher interest rates in the next few years 9% School or university fees 6% None of these 5% n = 1607 Source: Resolve Political Monitor
Political donations: $1.2 billion over 22 years, and ‘associated entities’ dominate By David Crowe January 31, 2022 More than a third of the cash flowing to the Liberal and Labor parties is coming from shadowy entities that can hide the true source of the funds, according to a new analysis that shows the main parties collected $1.2 billion over the past two decades. The property industry led the list of business sectors donating to both parties, giving $37.4 million to Labor and $53.1 million to the Coalition, but the study by the Centre for Public Integrity, an independent organisation, concludes that too many other donations are being hidden....... https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...ciated-entities-dominate-20220130-p59sau.html
Y'all living in the wrong places, that's all. Meanwhile, in beautiful Mi'sippy, Ya'll could be sippin sweet tea in the lap of luxury for half the price of one of them Sydney bungalows. https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-world/national/article257922743.html