Recycled policy gets reheated - again

National Party Housing spokesman Phil Heatley says Labour's pre-Budget 'shared equity' announcement is a "recycled policy reheated" for election year.

"Labour campaigned strongly on shared equity ahead of the 2005 election. This is taking recycling to a whole new level. This re-announcement has been made a dozen times already.

"It's totally bizarre that one of the aims of the pilot scheme is to see if people want a shared equity scheme, given that Labour has been working on this policy for donkey's years."

Mr Heatley has previously released news clippings and official papers showing that Labour has re-announced shared equity a dozen times since 2004.

"Provision for some $30 million in capital spending was made last December for shared equity. Labour appears to be re-announcing the same stuff in Budget 2008.

"One presumes that today's re-announcement is the result of the $1.4 million that was put aside in Budget 2007 for 'modelling work'.

"Today's shared equity re-announcement also appears to gloss over crucial details, like how any capital gains, or losses, will be shared, and what happens when the first home buyer wants to make even minor property improvements?"

Mr Heatley says the shared equity re-announcement is further evidence that Labour is out of ideas and out of puff.

"Maryan Street's Housing Affordability Bill has been roundly rejected by councils up and down the country. Meanwhile, the flagship Hobsonville housing project has been in the pipeline for Labour's entire term in office, but at $350,000 a pop, the homes don't even meet the Government's own affordability test.

"The most sensible thing Labour could have done to keep houses affordable was to reduce pressure on interest rates and improve take-home pay though tax relief. Government ministers have consistently made deliberate decisions to ignore these crucial tools."