The government unveiled its new $25,000 HomeBuilder grant today to single or couple home-owners so they can renovate their houses in an effort to curb the recession we’ve just entered into. You can check out an explainer for details here, but basically it’s a grant for rich people to make their homes fancier.
The HomeBuilder grant is going to cost tax payers an estimated $688 million dollars, and only singles who earn up to $150,000 or couples who earn up to $200,000 are eligible for it – but, the renovation they want has to cost between $150,000 to $750,000. So basically, to qualify you need to already have a spare $150,000 lying around.
Here we are in a country where owning a first home has increasingly become the impossible dream, and the guy’s handing out $25k to people who have a spare $150-thousand lying around for renovations? A shameless, blatant vote-grabbing exercise and nothing else.🤨#renororts #auspol
— David G (@WriteWithDave) June 4, 2020
The justification for giving a bunch of wealthy people money to vamp up their homes is that it’ll create jobs for tradies, but I think this is pretty bullshit. There are a myriad of ways this $688m could have been used to preserve jobs, and this ain’t one of them. Naturally, people are pissed off about this blatant attempt to funnel money into wealthy middle class Australia.
All those homeless older women living in their cars will be so grateful their wealthy betters can get a new marble bathroom soon! #RenoRorts #Auspol
— Mad Fucking Witches (@MadFckingWitch) June 3, 2020
International students are lining up for food, and Morrison is paying people to renovate. Think about that.
— Dan Gocher (@justdanfornow) June 3, 2020
I’m sure it’s got nothing to do with government handouts, but I just asked my electrician to change a downlight and he quoted me $600,000?#homebuilder
— Byron Kaye (@byronkaye) June 4, 2020
Shocking theft of taxpayers money to fund middle class welfare & 100k homeless.
The solution should be only social housing construction and renovation. #RenoRorts— 💧David Gray (@DaveyDogs) June 3, 2020
I mean, even The Australian is angry.
“Forcing taxpayers to renovate other people’s homes to aid some tradie, who probably earns more than the average taxpayer, is economic and political stupidity”, says @Adam_Creighton in the @australian
— Hugh Riminton (@hughriminton) June 3, 2020
The real injustice here though is how much money our government is willing to give rich people, and how little they want to help the vulnerable. When we enter a recession, poor people are far more in need of government financial support than people earning $150k a year.
We are currently living in a country where we have firefighters left homeless after last season’s devastating bushfires, we have a housing crisis with over 3 million Australians living under the poverty line, and mass unemployment due to coronavirus.
Imagine being the guys who would rather renovate rich ppls homes instead of building public housing – in a recession, during global resistance to #racism. Build public housing & community programs already. #HomeBuilder #Auspol #AboriginalLivesMatter
— Holly Goblin (@Holly_Goblin) June 3, 2020
As Senator Jordan Steele-John points out, why couldn’t we instead give $25,000 to people who have disabilities and need more accessible housing, so they can use it to renovate their homes to accommodate their needs better?
Instead of giving extra money to wealthy people so that they can renovate their kitchens, why not actually just give $25,000 to disabled people who desperately need modifications to make their homes accessible?
We are in an accessible housing crisis #Auspol
— Senator Jordon Steele-John 🌏🔥 (@Jordonsteele) June 4, 2020
You know what else would give tradies jobs and be socially useful? Re-building burnt down homes from the fires, or building more social housing. Imagine if the $688 million worth of tax payer money wasn’t going into rich people’s homes, but was used to create community housing for the 100,000 homeless people in this country?
Hi Josh,
We hope you’re well.
Can you please explain to somebody who’s homeless why the Federal Government will pay tradies to renovate bathrooms in existing middle class homes, but not pay tradies to build new public and community housing?
Thanks. 🏡
— VCOSS (@VCOSS) June 4, 2020
We are in a housing crisis. 1 in 200 Australians are homeless right now, and Scott Morrison wants to give the rich even more money, while refusing to raise welfare payments or create housing for the vulnerable. This government’s priorities have never been clearer and frankly, it’s sickening.
Image Sources: Twitter
