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The federal government’s property tax reforms will disincentivise construction and hurt Brisbane renters, the lord mayor said as he announced new zoning changes were set to be considered as part of a supply-side fix to the housing crisis.
Adrian Schrinner also revealed that council data showed the total number of rental properties in Brisbane had fallen over five years, despite an influx of new residents.
In a speech at a Property Council of Australia lunch on Tuesday, Schrinner confirmed Brisbane City Council would vote to approve changes to low-medium residential zoning before the end of June.
Proposed in 2025, the changes will impact about 14 per cent of the city and allow increased building heights, smaller block sizes and fewer parking spaces in a bid to spur development.
Schrinner confirmed his council would then look at possible changes for areas zoned medium density, potentially also including building height increases.
He used the speech to hit out at the federal government’s decision to wind back negative gearing benefits and scrap the capital gains tax discount for property, instead arguing recent history in Brisbane showed increasing supply was the only surefire way to stabilise prices.
“I am yet to see a city or a nation that has successfully managed to tax their way out of a housing shortage,” Schrinner told several hundred industry representatives at the Queen’s Wharf casino.
“The last thing I think we should be doing … is capitalising on intergenerational divides and differences.
“Last night’s budget, I think, was nothing more than an increase in housing taxes dressed up as a lifeline for young people.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – who had promised not to change property taxes at the last election – argued the status quo made housing investment overly lucrative, increasing demand and therefore competition for first-home buyers.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said the policy would slow price growth, but not send it backwards. Investors would still be able to negatively gear newly built homes, in a carve out aimed to make construction more attractive.
But Schrinner dismissed the government’s argument, calling the reforms “classic wedge politics” and arguing they would hurt the people they were supposed to help.
“I’m really concerned with the changes to the tax settings,” he told reporters before his speech.
“That’s not a policy that is friendly to young people or renters … this is classic wedge politics, trying to say they’re on the side of renters and young people, but actually the outcome will be a retrograde step.”
He blamed policy changes under the former Labor state government for contributing to the housing shortfall in Brisbane, and said council modelling showed there were about 14,000 fewer rentals on the market in 2025 than there had been in 2020.
That’s despite a huge influx of new residents moving to the city.
“This is what happens when a government decides their budgets and their policy settings based on political expediency rather than on supply … This is what happens when you make a form of investment unattractive to people,” he told the crowd.
He said Brisbane City Council was now approving more than 8000 development applications every year, and the expansion of precinct planning areas would help further boost supply.
“These planning decisions are always controversial,” Schrinner said.
“There will always be a line of people telling us why we shouldn’t do it. There will always be a line of people telling us that this will ruin the livability of their area.
“Yet in my mind, I know the thing that will ruin the livability of Brisbane is if young people and renters are locked out of our city.”
In a statement after the speech, the Master Builders Queensland lobby group similarly criticised the federal government’s decision.
“At a time when we’re doing all we can to boost housing supply, the negative gearing changes will mean roofs over fewer Queenslanders’ heads,” deputy CEO Michael Hopkins said.
“[The] government’s own figures show the changes will result in 35,000 less new homes nationwide in the next decade, of which around 20 per cent would have been built in our state.
“There are some bright spots in the budget. The $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund to help connect utilities like power, water, and sewerage will help fast-track new housing development.”
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