Melburnians and Sydneysiders would be offered $10,000 grants to move to Canberra under a Property Council proposal to help spark the ACT's coronavirus recovery.
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The industry group also wants the next ACT government to dangle $25,000 cash sweeteners in front of businesses prepared to set up in Canberra in the coming year, cap residential and commercial rates until 2023 and adopt policies to encourage new housing - particularly "build to rent" developments.
The Property Council has published a 17-page policy wishlist ahead of the ACT election, which it said was shaping as a "defining moment for Canberra" given what has transpired in 2020.
Executive director Adina Cirson said whichever party formed government after the October 17 ballot needed to take immediate steps to wrench the territory out of the coronavirus-induced recession and set the ACT on a path to long-term success.
Arguing growth is the prerequisite for a strong economy, the group has called for the next government to adopt a suite of policies to drive population growth, which had been one of the pillars of the ACT's economic strength before the pandemic struck.
It wants the lure of $10,000 cash grants to be used to attract "everyone from new families to retirees and key workers" to move from Melbourne, Sydney and the surrounding region to the nation's capital. In addition to the $25,000 start-up grants for new enterprises, the Property Council wants the government to provide a $5000 wage subsidy to businesses which hire a newly arrived Canberran.
The lobby group has used the pre-election wishlist to call for the Barr government to temporarily pause its tax reform agenda, arguing that the continued heavy reliance on stamp duty revenue was evidence that the program was "clearly not working".
The policy document referenced budget figures which showed the government collected more stamp duty revenue in 2019 than it did before the transition started in 2012, while at the same time raking in almost three times as much in general rates.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr has pushed back against this argument in the past, pointing to the fact that rapid population growth has meant the government collects rates from far more properties than it did almost a decade ago.
The Property Council has called for residential and commercial rates to be capped for the next three years, as well as a moratorium on any new property-related taxes and charges for the next 12 months.
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"Whilst the Property Council appreciates the ACT government's ambition to move towards a more stable and sustainable tax base away from less efficient transactional taxes, such as stamp duty, the current transition has resulted in an unstable and uncompetitive tax system," the document stated.
The Canberra Liberals have pledged to freeze residential rates for a full term if elected in October.
Mr Barr earlier this year announced rates would remain at the same level or drop slightly for the majority of households in 2020-21, but warned the reprieve was only temporary.
The Property Council's wishlist urges the next government to adjust policy settings to encourage investment in developments built specifically to accommodate renters.
It also calls on the government to partner with the private sector to deliver more affordable and community housing.
"We need to embrace our role as the nation's capital and leverage the solid base of investment and employment opportunity that no other Australian city can offer," Ms Cirson said.
Dan Jervis-Bardy
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
Dan covers federal politics from Parliament House, with a special focus on climate policy and the NDIS. He has previously reported on ACT politics and urban affairs since joining the Canberra Times in 2018.
