I don’t believe anybody is suggesting you can’t. The issue is simply balancing that right with the needs of residents who need a place to live. The proposal is, at its heart, simple: if you own a home, you need to be using it. Live in it yourself, or rent it out. If it’s not got anyone living in it, you pay an extra tax. You still own it, and you get to keep all the money from that rent. The proposed rule change is simply about recognising that (a) having a home is a basic human need and a basic right, and (b) it’s innately a very scarce resource.
drive the price down by competing. Build and keep ownership of Public Housing.
Public Housing is a State Government responsibility, while this is a proposed Council policy. The most Council can do with regards to providing more housing is to approve more housing to be built by the private market, including changing the zoning laws to enable that. And while the Greens do not go as far in this direction as I would like (I’d like low-density residential to be abolished entirely in favour of low-medium density 2–3 storey mix), they do seem more supportive of gentle density than the LNP is. See their Eagle Farm Racecourse proposal for example.
I don’t believe anybody is suggesting you can’t. The issue is simply balancing that right with the needs of residents who need a place to live. The proposal is, at its heart, simple: if you own a home, you need to be using it. Live in it yourself, or rent it out. If it’s not got anyone living in it, you pay an extra tax. You still own it, and you get to keep all the money from that rent. The proposed rule change is simply about recognising that (a) having a home is a basic human need and a basic right, and (b) it’s innately a very scarce resource.
Public Housing is a State Government responsibility, while this is a proposed Council policy. The most Council can do with regards to providing more housing is to approve more housing to be built by the private market, including changing the zoning laws to enable that. And while the Greens do not go as far in this direction as I would like (I’d like low-density residential to be abolished entirely in favour of low-medium density 2–3 storey mix), they do seem more supportive of gentle density than the LNP is. See their Eagle Farm Racecourse proposal for example.