The Government’s levies announcement is a step in the right direction, but they must be upfront about who will pay its new infrastructure levies and ensure that first-home buyers are protected from hidden costs.

“If we are truly going to address the housing shortage in this country, it will require a bipartisan approach across numerous Governments. Today’s announcement does build on some of the work Labour was doing,” Labour housing spokesperson Kieran McAnulty said.

“We will be as constructive as we can when it comes to housing policy. We cannot support the Government’s appalling and backwards approach to social and emergency housing, but we are keen to work with the Government in the areas of planning and infrastructure.

“After the Government scrapped a whole lot of reforms, causing massive upheaval for Councils and the construction and infrastructure sectors, we recognise that they are desperate for some certainty and we want to play our part in providing that.

“Developers have told us that new homebuyers are already bearing too much cost. We have some questions that we will work through with the Government, such as who will actually be paying these new levies and whether there is a chance that this will lead to hidden costs for homebuyers. It’s important we get that straight early on.

“Taking away development contributions from councils is a big deal, so we need to be clear on the details to make sure this doesn’t just shift the financial burden onto homeowners and first-home buyers. It is important the Government changes its attitude towards local government and works with them to get these settings right,” Kieran McAnulty said.

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