In an extraordinary example of how out-of-touch the Chief Minister is with housing affordability concerns in the ACT, Mr Stanhope has claimed price is not important for Canberrans struggling to afford to buy a home in Canberra’s squeezed housing market, said the Shadow Minister for Housing, Alistair Coe.

In a conversation on ABC radio with Alex Sloan this morning, the Chief Minister said:

Sloan: Our median house prices only follow Sydney.

Stanhope: Well certainly it’s not about price; it’s about capacity to pay… I’m not denying that there is enormous pressure on affordability here in the ACT, for some people, but for the majority of us there’s not – and let’s not actually distort the facts and claim there is when there isn’t.

“It appears Jon Stanhope and ACT Labor are the only ones that believe housing is affordable in Canberra,” Mr Coe said.

Mr Stanhope’s comments highlight ACT Labor’s shocking lack of understanding which has resulted in first home buyers struggling to buy a home in one of the most unaffordable justifications in the country.

“Jon Stanhope’s belittles low to middle income Canberra families as a minority group within the community; families who are trying to save for their first home, often while paying high rental costs.

“With increased housing costs, low to middle income families saving for a deposit are also forced to pay thousands for stamp duty and potentially thousands more for the change of use tax.

“This is in addition to increased costs to family budgets as a result of price hikes for electricity, water, registration, parking and public transport.

“Jon Stanhope’s comments that price isn’t a factor for Canberrans buying their first home is absurd. This government is tired and has forgotten what is important to Canberrans. Their priorities are not the same as the communities’,” Mr Coe concluded.