Alan Salter
Productivity Commission			(concerned citizen)
LB2 Collins Street		d		
Melbourne			
Victoria 8003				Victoria 

20/1/03

Dear Productivity Commission, First Home Ownership,

RE:- The Discussion Draft released by the commission on "FIRST

HOME OWNERSHIP".

For far to long the "HOUSING INDUSTRY HAS BEEN LIVING A LIE,

PERPETUATED BY FAR TOO MUCH "WRONG MONEY" BEING ALLOWED TO BE

INJECTED INTO IT BY THE GOVERNMENT THROUGH "NEGATIVE GEARING,

WETHER THAT BE LOCALS OR OVERSEAS INVESTORS".

	Of course "THE

MORE MONEY THAT GOES INTO THE INDUSTRY, THE HIGHER THE PRICES,

FACT OF LIFE!, AND WHO BEARS THE BRUNT OF THOSE HIGHER PRICES?,

THOSE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HOME OWNERSHIP LADDER, THE FIRST

HOME BUYER" OR THOSE WHO RENT!

	For The Commission to use " THE DISCRIMINATION ARG

UEMENT" when discussing "NEGATIVE GEARING ON HOUSING & OTHER

FORMS OF INVESTMENT WHERE NEGATIVE GEARING IS ALLOWED",(sec

tion 5, pages 59 to 89), Why would any "JUST & CAREING SOCIETY

PUT WETHER ONE CAN OWN A B.H.P SHARE OR A BASIC COMMODITY SUCH

AS A FIRST HOME IN THE SAME BASKET?".

	It would seem to me on

reading "THE DISCUSSION DRAFT", that The Commissions position

is to let "MARKET FORCES DO THE WORK", if this is the case then

"A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY" will have been lost to "BRING BACK SOME

NORMALITY TO THE FIRST HOME BUYERS MARKET”, by making such rec

ommendations as "THE REMOVEALL OF NEGATIVE GEARING FOR HOUSING".

Governments have allowed the removeall of "THOUSANDS OF WOULD 

BE FIRST HOMES" because of “MULTI-UNIT” developments, but nowhere

did "THEY REPLACE THEM', Governments should at least be respons-

ible for "PROVIDING ADEQUOTE RENTAL ACCOMMODATION".

Yours faithfully

Alan Salter