Hi gtsman05 ... people need to understand that the Govt is sorry that first home owners cannot afford a home and understands that FHOB's are often outbid by middle class immigrants bringing cash with them from offshore.
We know an immigrant lady GP (educated in UK) who is here under skills visa and cannot get sufficient aggregate paid hours to satisfy Immigration Dept for 'permanent residency' so she works as a 'check-out chick' who will pay CASH for a house when she attains her PR status. This is despite Govt postulating over GP shortages ... even GP's are subject to part-time short-term contracts.
Howard understood the plight of the native Aussie first home buyers and introduced the FHOB Scheme which has been a failure succeeding in only 'lining the pockets' of vendors.
Both side of politics have been sold on the idea of high population Australia which already is under extreme population stress ... and despite this the politicians are silent.
Australia is the domicile of preference for millions of middle class immigrants worldwide who have skills and cash and your Govt is wooing them bigtime overseas ... 285,000 in 2009.
Quote: "We have looked for, and have not found, any convincing economic argument for continued population growth. The health of our economy does not depend upon it, nor does the vitality of business, nor the welfare of the average person."
John D. Rockefeller, III, Chairman, Commission on Population and the American Future, 1972.
