A hefty "footprint" tax levied pro rata on all dwellings with floor space (including garage) over, say, 190sqm could help combat inflation, housing unaffordability and global warming if governments used the revenue to reduce new housing land prices to fit an acceptable (currently not) mortgage-repayment to net-income ratio.
The way-overdue correction would have a flow-on effect on house prices and construction costs. It could be sustained by governments keeping land supply levels ahead of demand ascertained by forward calls for expressions of interest, subdividing and servicing their new land themselves, and selling good-sized blocks only to committed owner-occupiers or pre-formed bodies corporate.
Rightly, occupiers would be more included in design and construction procurement. Builders would still build. Recent housing participants who borrowed or lent too much would need to hold on tight, for a while.
Owners of large dwellings might minimise the footprint tax through building subdivision, curtailing ubiquitous open-space-destroying dual occupancies, and possibly balancing the demography in, and improving the social and economic sustainability of, suburbs in the process.
Residential property developers could get real jobs, ending a shameful period of apparent exploitation and the dodgy funding of some political parties.
Jack Kershaw, Kambah
Fraser Court
Re your editorial ("Failure of policy at Fraser Court, April 5, pB5) about Fraser Court, it seems to me that the main problem with the proposal is that public housing will be less available for quite a while between the selling of Fraser Court and the availability of new accommodation. I suggest the ACT Government put the following concepts out to tender. First, that the Government will supply (not sell) land to the tenderer. Second, that the tenderer will build a certain number of public housing units and houses on this land. Third, when the building is completed, to the satisfaction of the Government, it will be passed to the Government in exchange for the rights to Fraser Court and its land.
Ray Hafey, Queanbeyan, NSWAlcohol advertising
The Coalition of Major Professional Sports is considering funding cuts to vulnerable community groups if alcohol advertising at sporting events is banned. Can there be a crueller form of alcohol dependency? The Federal Government's relevant agencies should be allowed to review more frequently children's exposure to alcohol ads linked to sport.
It is disturbing to find from data published by the Children's Television Standards Review that the free-to-air viewing profile of 0-14-year-olds shows a rise from around 200,000 viewers at 6pm to an estimated 530,000 between 7pm and 8pm, falling back to nearly 200,000 at 10pm. This is a time when many major sports are played and means a large base of children are exposed to alcohol ads.
Tobacco sponsorship of sport was ruled out years ago. Child-viewing of major sports sponsored by the liquor industry, daytime or evening, must surely be coupled with the other arguments being put forward by the National Alliance Against Alcohol-Related Violence to convince all governments that alcohol ads promoting sport should be phased out over five years.
Health data in the ACT reveals that in the past three years there has been a 560 per cent increase in the number of drinkers hospitalised by alcohol toxicity. And nationwide ?
Colliss Parrett, Barton
Recumbent trikes
Would you like doing something enjoyable while reducing your CO2 emissions? I suggest using a recumbent tricycle for commuting/leisure. No more sore bum, back, shoulders, neck or wrists: tadpole and delta recumbent trikes are really "sinfully comfortable".
I've used mine daily for six months, mainly on cycle paths and quiet streets where it's perfectly safe using a flag, high-visibility safety vest and lights at night. But while it's road-legal, don't sue me if you mix it with heavy traffic and get flattened.
Jorge Gapella, Kaleen
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