affordable accomodation

The Government plans to assist low and no income families by increasing the accomodation supplement via the Budget. This will, according to Steve Maharey, provide low-income families with affordable quality housing.

With the emphasis on affordable, of course. Yet the Herald reported that the reserve bank is lifting the official cash rate 0.25% to curb inflation.

That will cost borrowers $8.00 a fortnight extra on a $120,000 mortgage. Not sure what the average state house is worth these days, but the median house price was more than double that in March - $240,500.

So a person receiving the accomodation supplement will have to get at least $10 a week increase just to offset the OCR for an average size house. That is unlikely to happen - in any case that is an increase of nearly 20% for some people receiving the supplement.

Then they have to find the house they can afford.

State Housing is at a premium at the moment due to long waiting lists. So will the Government treat low income non- taxpayers like sickness beneficaries, who may be able to bypass waiting lists to get operations paid for by the taxpayer so they can be fit for work. Will taxpayers pay some of the mortgage to low income earners so that they can pay off their student loans that have prevented them getting houses in the first place.

So what is the emphasis on - quality housing or affordable housing? Both appear to be increasingly harder to get.