The ACT government's land release program is often battered by groups advocating for reform in the cost of housing sites and by the property industry who continually wants more land provided.

The Land Development Agency has long argued that it is maintaining the balance between supply and demand but has admitted in the past that environmental clearances have slowed down release.

And measures to get land "shovel ready" in larger development areas have been undertaken by the agency in recent times in acknowledgment of the demand for land.

A more cynical observation would be that the government doesn't mind the pent-up demand because it drives the prices up and builds the territory's coffers.

The Canberra Liberals are the latest to criticise the prices of new land in the territory and are calling for the government to reform the land release program.

The opposition calculates that the price per square metre of land in the upcoming release of Throsby in Gungahlin will be twice the price of the Googong release across the border in NSW.

Googong, while being marketed as a sustainable community with green innovations, has attracted many buyers purely for the price of land and the extra distance their savings will go.

For a first home buyer in the territory the choice is largely between an apartment in the ACT or moving across the border where a new house is much more affordable.

While the ACT government might be resistant to reforming the land release program, it should nevertheless look at why land in its jurisdiction is worth twice as much – and whether this is fair for residents.

The opposition has not presented an alternative at this stage other than to say they would conduct a "proper" land release program with a focus on affordability.

In the lead-up to the 2016 territory election the policies of both parties on housing affordability will no doubt be presented and an examination of a more equitable land release program should be part of the discussion.