13 December 2012 Citizens deserve the truth: property prices are down -8.6 per cent nationally in real terms. Removing inflation from real estate prices reveals falls from peak of -11.2 per cent in Melbourne and -11.6 per cent in Brisbane in real terms, according to...
BLOG: David Collyer
Taxi Licenses are Economic Rent
11 December 2012 Charging Victorian taxi license holders a stiff annual fee as Prof Allan Fels proposes should be welcomed by every citizen and immediately enacted by government, says Prosper Australia. “TaxiLink director Harry Katsianabis manages 160 taxi licenses...
Englobo
Land in Australia should be dirt cheap. Outstanding access to land ought be a national advantage, generously conferred by a loving government upon its people.
Melbourne needs Choo Choos!
The Victorian Government wants to, needs to, spend billions on Melbourne transport to catch up with the city’s explosive growth. As John Legge kindly points out in a must-read at The Age: “The affluent have crossed the Yarra and now colonise almost all of the zone-one...
Higher GST a low wattage idea
Independent MP Rob Oakshott stepped into the media spotlight yesterday saying both the Coalition and Labor want to raise the GST rate – after the election. Sadly, he is correct. ''It shouldn't just be about the GST. This is about why on earth in Australia we have...
Steer Around the GFC
15 November 2012 The mining investment boom that carried Australia though the Global Financial Crisis is declining rapidly and new engines of growth are urgently needed to steer around the ‘Controlled Depression’ that is driving the world into a spiral of misery -...
No, House Prices are not ‘Recovering’
A storm of triumphant prose rolled out to greet yesterday’s release of the authoritative ABS Eight Capital Cities House Price Indexes. Normally-sober Bloomberg told its global audience: “Prices climbed 0.3 per cent in the September quarter from a year ago.” They did -...
Institutionalised exploitation – class warfare – infuriates me
‘We help property sellers sell’ is realestate.com.au’s proud claim. It is shocking to discover how far this News Corporation subsidiary is prepared to go to fullfil this promise. An un-named writer penned a delightful upbeat article on their website based on research...
Goodbye to high land prices
Next week, a disappointed man and his family are flying out to a new life in Seattle, Washington. They came to Australia seeking new opportunities in a high growth economy. They love Australia, love Melbourne, but have been driven away by land prices that would...
CIV Rates Make Families Subsidize Land Speculators
17 October 2012 The survey of Victorian local government candidates conducted by Prosper Australia ahead of the 26 October election reveals few candidates understand where and how councils are funded. “We learned only a handful appreciate Site Value Rating is a...