The housing crisis will only get worse with Greens and Labor policies

Dear ,

While we are campaigning to remove the Greens in Ryan and Brisbane, maybe the more important part of the campaign is getting truth out there.

Tax policies which the Greens advocate, and Labor toys with, will make the housing crisis much worse than it is now, particularly for those least able to afford a crisis - renters.

If you haven't seen our ads, you can look at them on this page..

And if you haven't tipped in yet, please think about donating. A targeted social media campaign is highly effective, with $6,415.50 getting our message to the equivalent of everyone between 18 and 45 in Ryan and between 18 and 35 in Brisbane once. We need to repeat that many times over. To donate, please click here.

I've highlighted an article in today's Australian by Nick Cater where he runs through some of the lies being told in what he terms "our first post-truth election". If you click on the image it will take you through to a copy of the article not behind a paywall.

It's not really so shocking. The Greens and Labor launder lies through the Australia Institute and other "think tanks" and then spread and repeat ad nauseum. We don't have to launder lies - the truth favours our case - but we do need to spread and repeat ad nauseum.

Repetition and reinforcement do not come naturally to our side of politics, but it has been central to any successful campaign that I have ever run.

I believe that if we can get our figure of $83 in front of enough voters in Ryan and Brisbane often enough, it will make a big difference. It is certainly not a lie. If anything it is far too conservative.

Gene Tunny has worked out the increase on the basis that, after abolishing negative gearing and doubling capital gains tax, returns from rental properties will have to find a new equilibrium which is actually lower than the current one. While I'm happy to accept conservatism in return for credibility, I think the increase will be much more than that for these reasons:

• the current average return on real estate is only 3.7% gross - this is not competitive with other investments and will on its own lead to a shortage of rentals until it rises to more like the historical level of 6% higher than the current yield, not lower;
• one way yields could be returned to the normal level is via price decreases, but I doubt this will happen because demand is too high, through natural increase and excessive immigration, and supply, is too low because of red tape, planning regulations, infrastructure restrictions, and shortages of material and labour; and
• Gene doesn't allow for the effect of rent caps which could lead to the withdrawal of 450,000 rental properties - the number required to handle around two years worth of immigration.

If you haven't read the report, you can download it from here.

And if you haven't donated yet, please think about it. You can donate via credit card by clicking here. Or depositing to our bank account: Australian Institute for Progress, ANZ Woolloongabba. BSB 014 278 Acc# 1101 03131.

I believe that truth counts, and that it will count in votes.

Regards,

GRAHAM YOUNG
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR