[Greens-Media] O'Farrell's office block fire sale is $300m gift to developers

[John Kaye]

O'Farrell's office block fire sale is $300m gift to developers
 
Media release: 9 October 2012
 
Premier Barry O'Farrell's decision to sell $300 million worth of state office accommodation will impose long-term costs on households and taxpayers as future governments have to pay for rental to house government departments, according to Greens NSW MP John Kaye.
 
('Premier Barry O'Farrell to sell $300 million in assets', Daily Telegraph, 9 October 2012, page 1, http://j.mp/SIbkxO)
 
Dr Kaye said: "The O'Farrell government is taking $300 million out of the pockets of NSW taxpayers and putting it into the bank accounts of wealthy developers.
 
"This is Barrynomics at its worst: sell off an asset that earns an income or offsets an expenditure to generate a wad of cash to spend on a crowd pleaser and hope that no one notices the hit to the state's financial balance sheet.
 
"This will not even make housing more affordable. Developers will just pocket the savings on not building essential infrastructure  and continue to sell new houses at whatever the market can bear.
 
"It looks like the housing industry has once again outsmarted a NSW government. Instead of forcing the developers to dip into their profits to pay for the infrastructure to support new housing, Barry O'Farrell is selling off public assets.
 
"The Premier is creating the illusion of acting on housing but he is imposing another cost on taxpayers who will have to pay for the rental of office accommodation for government departments.
 
"Finance Minister Greg Pearce has once again sacrificed the long-term economic health of the state to butter up a core Coalition constituency," Dr Kaye said.
 
For more information:  John Kaye 0407 195 455
 
 
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John Kaye
Greens member of the NSW Parliament
phone: (02) 9230 2668
fax: (02) 9230 2586
mobile: 0407 195 455
email: john.kaye at parliament.nsw.gov.au
web: www.johnkaye.org.au
 
mail: Parliament House, Macquarie St, Sydney NSW 2000