Roger Jaensch,Minister for Housing
In recognition of continuing high demand for social and affordable housing, the Hodgman Liberal Government will allocate almost $68 million in 2019-20 to boost the supply of new social and affordable homes.
This budget is about maintaining the momentum and investing for growth. The Hodgman Liberal Government recognises the increased demand for housing, and we are working through our ten year Affordable Housing Strategy to address housing stress and reduce homelessness in Tasmania.
To accelerate the building of more houses to address supply challenges, we have heavily front-ended our $125 million housing commitment in Stage Two of the Government's Affordable Housing Action Plan with $10 million of this funding brought forward, bringing the total allocated in this financial year to $40.5 Million.
A further $27.4 million is allocated for Housing Tasmania's capital program, including the purchase and construction of new social housing to support the initiatives in our second Action Plan.
We understand there is high demand for housing across the State, and we are doing our part to increase supply across the spectrum, including extending the First Home Owner Grant of $20,000 to 30 June 2020.
The Government's commitment of $125 million into Stage Two of our Affordable Housing Action Plan (2019 to 2023) takes our total investment into affordable housing to almost $200 million over eight years – the largest ever state investment into affordable housing in Tasmania's history.
Bringing forward this considerable investment is just one of the ways we are building more homes for Tasmanians in need, faster.
Our investment adds to the $30 million committed by the Federal Morrison Government through the Hobart City Deal to facilitate more than 100 new social housing dwellings across Greater Hobart.
