“[Labor] had a minority of the primary vote,and we have a mandate,our MPs have a mandate,to promote the policies that we went to the election with,” he said.
“The bottom line is we want to preserve choice,and we’ll work with the crossbench on the best way to achieve that.”
‘We’re certainly ready for the fight.’
NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman
While Labor has insisted the policy would see people pay more tax over time,Revenue NSW data shows some 3726 homeowners have opted into the scheme since January. The former government had initially expected only 6500 people to sign up per year.
Speakman pointed to previously released data which showed the policy would save typical ownerstens of thousands of dollars based on the average length of ownership for people who purchase their first property.
The new opposition leader faces his own first test as he seeks to win support within the Liberal partyroom to have his preferred deputy,Natalie Ward,installed amid internal doubts.
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The NSW upper house is evenly poised between a 12-member crossbench split six-six between right and left-of-centre parties. The reform bill was passed with the support of the previous crossbench,and Speakman said he “hoped” they would support a bid to block its repeal.
“[They were] re-elected on the platforms and the initiatives they took before the election,so they do have a mandate to continue supporting it,” he said.
The previous government had pushed for the reform on the basis that first home buyers would pay less upfront,cutting the time to save for a deposit.
Some critics insisted the scheme did not go far enough because it was limited to first home buyers,and Speakman said he would consider adopting an expanded land tax regime policy in opposition.
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“This scheme is meritorious and therefore an expansion may also be meritorious,but in the first instance this is[about] protecting what legislation is there,and we’ll look at further possibilities down the track,” he said.
While he said the new opposition would be “looking at a whole range of policies” to ease housing stress,he joined Minns in ruling out rental caps.
“If you want investors in the market increasing supply you don’t make it even less attractive,” he said.
Speakman,who as attorney-general in the Berejiklian and Perrottet governments pushed for drug law reforms,also dismissed the new government’s plan to hold a drug summit,saying Labor should look to the $11 million ice inquiry commissioned by the Coalition.
“I don’t think we need another drug summit,” he said.
While it was “important to speak to and collaborate with” experts,drug law reform had been discussed “ad nauseam” in recent years.
“We accepted many recommendations[of the ice inquiry and] we didn’t accept others. They should take the same approach we did,but if they differ in approach they should change which recommendations they do or don’t accept without the need for another summit.”
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