12:24p.m. 4 March 2008

| By Mark Furler

Sunshine Coast mayoral contender Joe Natoli has today unveiled a new plan which he says will allow people to buy their own home - through a co-operative - for under $160,000, slashing mortgage payments.

Mr Natoli said the affordable housing project was desperately needed on the Coast as young people struggled with rising interest rates - and soaring land and buildings costs.

“It would bring mortgage repayments down from around $3400 per month to about $1230 per month, which would bring it within the reach of a great deal more people.”

“As I’ve toured the Sunshine Coast, affordability is one of the key issues that keeps coming up. We have to look at alternative ways of providing people with a way to own their own home. Doing what we’ve always done, doesn’t work anymore,” he said.

“My plan is to establish a ‘social investing’ co-operative. It’s just like people can invest in green companies, but in this case they are investing in the Sunshine Coast as a co-operative to purchase large parcels of land.”

“People are then able to lease the land, to build their home. This reduces the most expensive component of home ownership – the land.”

“Investors would still receive a return on their investment, possible tax advantages and the knowledge they’re helping others on the Sunshine Coast,” he said.

“One of the major four banks has also indicated a keen interest in being involved.”

The houses would be designed for the environment – saving energy and water, which would in turn, would reduce costs in the future.

“People would also be able to build one or two bedroom homes which means young people, young families and retirees could build homes along side each other. That also builds communities and neighbourhoods,” Mr Natoli said.

“People are saying to me that they fear Bob Abbot’s policies will force prices up even further and cripple the construction industry.”

“This place cannot be just for the rich. I will make sure we have affordability and sustainable growth,” Mr Natoli said. “Plus a future for our children.”

“I have also committed to an ‘Affordable Housing Summit’ within 60 days of being elected to office. This think tank would be charged with finding out exactly why we have a shortage of land available and why there are so few rental properties as well.”

“We need to know why demand outstrips supply to such an extent that rentals on the Sunshine Coast went up 22% last year compared to the state average of 10%.”

Noosa mayor Bob Abbot said Noosa had tried to get an affordable housing trial off the ground a few years ago but had been hampered by a lack of availability of cheaper land and housing.

He said Mr Natoli's plan seemed to have 'no given role' for the council while it was a 'very complicated process'.

"There is also no exit strategy that I can see at all,'' he said questioning what would people do who wanted to get out of the scheme.

He said while it may help some people in the short term, there was no guarantee of long term affordability.

Mr Abbot said he believed a better approach would be to team up with the Federal Government on Kevin Rudd's plan to release 100,000 affordable rental homes by creating investment incentives.

"The mechanism is now there to make a trial a work,'' he said, noting the need to have both developers and the federal government involved.

Mr Abbot also denied suggestions by Mr Natoli that a Noosa-style council would lead to soaring home prices and impact on the construction industry.

He said Noosa's two percent growth was enough to sustain the construction industry while ensuring that housing remained as affordable as possible, apart from in the prime waterfront and canal areas.

"There is no industry people out of work anymore here than anywhere else,'' he said.

Mr Abbot said in the 30 years he had been involved in the construction industry he had seen three booms and three busts - which could be attributed to unchecked growth.

He said too often it was the local subbies who got burnt when out of towners moved in when there was a boom time - and left the region without paying their bills when there was a slowdown.

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