Former RBA governor Bernie Fraser has told a parliamentary hearing into the capital gains tax (CGT) discount he would scrap the tax break if it was up to him.  

The former Reserve Bank governor says scrapping the capital gains tax discount would help improve housing affordability, according to a report in ABC online.

He conceded that a “cartel” of vested interests in the economy, including politicians, home owners and investors, would like to keep the status quo.

“Despite that sort of toxic approach to tax changes, I think that a case can be made for doing away with the discount on the gains, capital gains tax, abolishing it altogether,” Mr Fraser said in Canberra.

Housing supply and the effect of the CGT discount on inequality are under the microscope over three days of hearings, featuring experts, government agencies and think tanks

This, and many more stories are from this week’s LeftField Communications feed.

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Eileen ‘Red’ Bond’s iconic Double Bay retreat hits the market for $17m
The luxury Sydney apartment of Eileen Bond – the late socialite and Matriarch of one of Australia’s well known families – has hit the market for the first time in 40 years. Kate Kachor

Newtown vacant block for sale at $2. 95 million in rare blank-canvas opportunity
A vacant block in Sydney’s Newtown could be the suburb’s first true blank-canvas opportunity in years, and buyers are not deterred by its $2. 95 million price tag. Shae Wiedermann

Queensland ranked worst for housing delivery as red tape blamed for 15,782-home shortfall
Queensland has been branded a dud in the latest national report card, which rates all state governments on their efforts to address Australia’s critical housing shortage. Sue Williams

Former Packer bookmaker’s Crown residence sells for $50 million-plus
Kerry Packer was known for his impressive residential property portfolio, and his inner circle were just as well-housed.  His bookmaker, Robert Blann, bought a whole-floor apartment in Sydney’s Crown Residences off the plan in 2018. Kristy Johnson

Realestate. com. au

Neighbours forced to rip up floors after noise complaints
Neighbour wars over noise are exploding across unit blocks, with Aussies warned a simple home reno was triggering costly disputes, legal action – and even orders to rip floors out from under them. Sophie Foster

Homes for less than $38 a week: top rental yield suburbs revealed
Aspiring property investors discouraged by the excessive costs of owning a rental home in the Harbour City have been thrown a lifeline.  New data has revealed it has become possible to score properties that come close to paying for themselves in a range of suburbs that often fly under the radar. Kaylee Cranley – Sydney

Brisbane’s apartment market completes full cycle from oversupply to boom
Property experts say a Fortitude Valley unit that doubled in value in just three years, signals the end of Brisbane’s apartment market nightmare. Aleisha Dawson – Brisbane

John Singleton to ‘put Harry Triguboff out of business’
Legendary advertising man-turned-property developer John Singleton has seen quick sales after kicking off the marketing of his latest Central Coast project, 16 luxury apartments on the Caroline Bay foreshore.  The East Gosford project, 49Caroline, is being developed in partnership with the Trevor Loewensohn-led financier, Alceon. Jonathan Chancellor – New South Wales

Geelong apartment’s enormous deck offers panoramic bay views
Position yourself in the heart of Geelong’s waterfront action at this premium apartment in the award-winning Edgewater complex. Nicole Mayne – Geelong

Two Gold Coast suburbs tipped to lead property price boom in 2026
Burleigh Waters and Ormeau are tipped to lead the Gold Coast’s property price growth in 2026, according to a leading property analyst.  The Growth Leaders report — a collaboration between Finance Better and Hotspotting — ranks every Australian capital city and regional market. Aleisha Dawson – Gold Coast

Eight simple household tweaks that could save you more than $700 every month
Already feeling the effects of the RBA’s February rate hike? You’re not alone.  Mortgage holders with a $500,000 loan balance face an average monthly increase of $79 to their repayments, while those with a $1m loan are staring down an average $157 extra per month, according to Compare the Market figures. Tim McIntyre

Melbourne: Where house price are rising despite burglary boom
Melbourne homebuyers are driving price booms in rising burglary hotspots with surprising stats revealing crime isn’t always a deterrent to property premiums. Alesha Capone – Melbourne

Nearly 200 luxury apartments set for Brisbane’s key Olympic Games district
Nearly 200 luxury apartments are coming to a key Olympics district in Brisbane, minutes away from where the high-stakes games will be held.  Consolidated Properties Group (CPG) is preparing to build ‘Gloriette’ in Yeerongpilly Green: a 25-storey tower on King Arthur Tce, featuring 181 units by the Brisbane River. Nicholas Finch – Brisbane

Cannon Hill’s billion-dollar village precinct sees apartments sell fast
From the creators of the award-winning Emporium precincts, Vila at East Village has made a decisive entry into Brisbane’s residential market, with more than 70 per cent of residences sold in less than 90 days of launching. Stephen Nadin – Brisbane

Inside the Mermaid Beach apartment with its own rooftop pool and swim-up bar
Long-time Gold Coast property mogul Simon Newitt didn’t just want a beachside apartment. News Corp Australia – Gold Coast

Urban Developer – Partly Free

Unlocked Site at Banyo Creates Expressions-of-Interest Deluge
Within two weeks of the land release of an under-utilised government-owned site, the desk of Economic Development Queensland boss Julian Simmonds is awash with no less than 165 expressions of interest. Phil Bartsch

Goldfields Taps Ironside for $170m Richmond Tower Build
Goldfields has secured a planning permit and appointed a builder to deliver its $170-million Richmond project.  Victorian builder Ironside has been tapped to bring The Brightly, an 11-storey mixed-use development in Melbourne’s inner-east, out of the ground. Leon Della Bosca

Legacy’s 850-Home Corrimal Coke Works Scheme on Display
A former steel-era industrial site on the NSW South Coast is tracking toward 850 homes, well beyond its original 550-home blueprint, as rail-side uplift reshapes the Corrimal Coke Works precinct. Vanessa Croll

Adelaide’s $120m Parkline Tower Opens as CBD Surges
As projects such as Chasecrown’s $120-million Parkline development overlooking Adelaide’s cosmopolitan East End free-up housing for families on the urban fringe, a family business is liberating a site for renewal in the city’s colourful West End. Chris Thomson

Second Round of Queensland’s $2bn Housing Fund Launched
Applications for the second round of Queensland’s Residential Activation Fund have opened, making $500 million available to councils and landowners to fund trunk infrastructure and accelerate residential development across the state. Leon Della Bosca

Sydney Marriott Deal Heralds Deicorp Office-to-Hotel Shift
Deicorp has landed a major brand for its mixed-use Hyde Metropolitan project, naming AC by Marriott as the operator of the building’s hotel.  The 55-storey mixed-use tower at 133-141 Liverpool Street in Sydney’s CBD, designed by Candalepas Associates, will host 104 hotel rooms in the lower levels below 169 luxury apartments. Patrick Lau

Marathon Concrete Pour for McNab’s Gold Coast Tower
After a year-long excavation, an 18-hour marathon to pour 1424 cubic metres of concrete has marked the start of McNab’s Elements Budds Beach tower moving skywards. Taryn Paris

Rise Sought for Heritage Brisbane Bread Factory Tower
Revised tower plans have been filed for an inner-city Brisbane heritage-listed former bread factory.  The proposal comprises 100 apartments rising 20 storeys from the 4390sq m site of the former Keating’s Bakery, now known as The Bakers Grounds, at Fortitude Valley. Phil Bartsch

Brarz Plots PBSA Switch for Approved Melbourne Highrise
An approved 42-level highrise in central Melbourne would transform to student living under amendments now before the state.  Brarz Developments City  has filed a planning amendment for its approved mixed-use development at 54–66 La Trobe Street, Melbourne. Leon Della Bosca

View. com. au

Investor snaps up sunlit unit
High interest in Adelaide’s west was evident as 1/1 Irene Avenue, Fulham Gardens, went under the hammer, despite a modest crowd of about 20.  Six registered bidders tested the waters, opening at $620,000 before hesitation slowed momentum. Tim McDonald

Apartments. com. au

Homecorp lodges plans for $260 million Moroccan bathhouse-inspired tower in Budds Beach
A Moroccan-bathhouse residential tower has been unveiled for Budds Beach, with Australian developer Homecorp announcing plans for a $260 million resort-style project in one of the Gold Coast’s most tightly held waterfront precincts. Joel Robinson

It’s all in the family: Four decades later, Raptis continues to shape the Gold Coast skyline
What began as a leap of faith in the 1970s has evolved into one of the Gold Coast’s most enduring development success stories.  Raptis, now led by second-generation developer Evan Raptis, continues to shape the region’s skyline four decades after patriarch Jim Raptis first ventured north from Sydney. Joel Robinson

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The Australian Financial Review

Overriding NIMBY councils would ‘help build 1m more homes in Sydney’
Copying the Victorian government’s planning rules that prevent councils from blocking terraces and low-rise apartments would make it feasible to build 1 million more homes in Sydney, according to the Grattan Institute. Paul Karp

REIA CGT rent scare campaign is ‘bunkum’.
Jim Chalmers cannot repeat Bill Shorten’s mistakes – capital gains reforms must be paired with less spending and going bigger on tax cuts for workers. Hugh Hartigan Head of Research, Data and Analytics at Housing Australia

CGT change will help first home buyers and won’t harm supply: Treasury
Scaling back the capital gains tax deduction for investors would have a minimal impact on supply but would enable more first home buyers into the market, says Treasury. Phillip Coorey and Lea Jurkovic

Westfield owner Scentre eyes 20,000 apartment pipeline
The country’s biggest shopping centre owner, Scentre, which operates Westfield malls, is set to become a major player in the housing sector as well after lodging proposals to develop more than 16,000 apartments at six of its malls.  Scentre already has approval for 4100 dwellings at Westfield Hornsby in Sydney and Westfield Belconnen in Canberra. Nick Lenaghan

The $5k option parents are using to help their kids buy homes
Wealthy parents are using buyers’ agents to give their children a better chance at securing their first property, as strong competition between buyers and investors has sent prices up 10 per cent nationally in the past 12 months. Lucy Slade

Three-days-a-week construction hampering housing supply: Lombardo
Building sites across Queensland are only productive for three days a week, says the outgoing chief executive of construction and real estate company Lendlease, contributing to a gap of at least 77,000 dwellings in the state and worsening Australia’s housing crisis. Lea Jurkovic and Michael Bleby

$1. 2m profit per unit: The research that helped decide Woollahra plan
Woollahra in Sydney’s east is the most feasible place to build new apartments in the city because profit on each unit is about $1. 2 million, according to research the NSW Labor government used to back its plans to triple density in the suburb. Paul Karp

The Sydney Morning Herald

Vincent’s unit block was riddled with problems.  He found a clever fix
When Vincent Woodgate bought an apartment in the Sydney complex where he’d been a renter for the past three years, he was horrified to discover the building was riddled with problems – and a strata committee doing little about them. Sue Williams

How Melbourne beats Sydney on housing crisis solutions
The NSW government has not prioritised the best type of residential development to deal with Sydney’s housing shortage and should follow Victoria’s blueprint to fix the crisis, a leading think tank says. Matt Wade

The 1950 housing headline that is still relevant in NSW 76 years later
NSW Liberal Leader Kellie Sloane has signalled she intends to make next year’s state election a referendum on the housing crisis, warning history is repeating itself, with NSW Labor falling short on building targets as it did almost 80 years ago. Alexandra Smith

Premier promises end to building suburbs with no infrastructure
One of north-west Sydney’s most congested roads will be expanded at a cost of more than $700 million, as Premier Chris Minns says the state government has learnt from its previous mistakes of creating new suburbs without proper infrastructure. Anthony Segaert

Middle-income Australians shut out of new home market
Home builders have given up on middle-income Australians, erecting thousands of million-dollar properties while leaving almost nothing for people earning less than $120,000 a year. Shane Wright

‘Do whatever is possible’: Top economists join forces to back capital gains tax changes
Some of the nation’s biggest names in economics will advocate changes to the capital gains tax concession in a series of public parliamentary hearings next week, increasing pressure on Treasurer Jim Chalmers to deliver major tax reform in his May budget. Shane Wright

The Age

The 20-storey divide: Melbourne’s high-density push stalled by numbers that don’t stack up
Just 110,000 additional homes – about one-sixth of the total capacity slated for Melbourne’s new activity centres – are commercially viable, casting fresh doubt on the Allan government’s signature housing policy. Daniella White

Construction bosses say tougher laws needed to stop return of Building Bad
Construction companies who witnessed first-hand the cost of corruption and criminal involvement on Victoria’s Big Build sites are pushing for the Allan government to outlaw coercive industrial practices that enabled the CFMEU to control the flow of billions of dollars of public funds. Chip Le Grand

‘Ethically indefensible’: The kickbacks costing Victorian apartment owners thousands
Strata managers are pocketing secret kickbacks of up to 20 per cent from the insurance companies they present to apartment owners – and the practice is perfectly legal. Rachael Dexter

The Daily Telegraph

Parramatta Council debates potential gas ban again
Gas-ban advocates have warned it could be fatal while full electrification opponents want the council to “mind their own business”.  Read the latest on a potential gas ban in Sydney’s second city. Joanne Vella

Developer lodges plans for $220m 41-storey apartment tower in western Sydney
Plans for a $220 million tower will transform the Penrith skyline with its tallest residential building featuring 387 apartments, right near the Plaza, if approved. Tileah Dobson

Campsie: 124-142 Beamish St and 16-18 Ninth Ave: Developer proposes 346 new apartments in 39-storey tower
Three towers up to 39 storeys high could reshape a suburb in Sydney’s southwest if the complex with restaurants, a swimming pool and gym wins approval.  Developer Arada Australia has lodged an application to construct three shop-top housing towers ranging from 24 to 39-storeys. Tileah Dobson

Housing industry warns crippling overheads make building in Western Sydney a loss-making venture
Building apartments in Western Sydney has become so expensive that developers face catastrophic losses of nearly $100,000 per unit – delivering a further blow to the state’s housing crisis. Peter Jenkins

The Herald Sun

Scrapping Victoria’s Windfall Gains Tax could deliver 3,100 more homes annually, new data reveals
A controversial tax designed to fund community infrastructure reeled in just $15m in revenue last year.  New figures show scrapping it could attract $1. 4bn in investment. Carly Douglas

Hampton’s historic Edwardian shops to be bulldozed for five-storey apartment block
A Melbourne council has approved plans to bulldoze a row of World War I-era shopfronts sparking anger from Hampton locals who want the plans sent back to the “drawing board”. Emma Sudano

The Gold Coast Bulletin

Receivers move to sell prominent Broadbeach site for failed 52-storey tower
A prime Broadbeach site earmarked for a record-breaking 52-storey tower has collapsed into receivership, with the failed development now heading to market. Andrew Potts
The Adelaide Advertiser

Stamp duty to be abolished for seniors in major Labor housing pitch
Baby Boomers could pocket massive stamp duty savings under Labor’s $70 million election pledge, but strict conditions apply to access the lucrative downsizer deal. Brad Crouch

The West Australian

Opening date set for new-look Fraser Suites as $47,000 in water damage sparks budget concerns
The State Government insists John Carey’s “bold” plan to turn a five-star city hotel into social and affordable housing is on track, despite a ‘great flood’ causing water damage.

Empty nesters to get stamp duty windfall in $70m pledge
A new pitch is set to deliver “empty nesters” a massive stamp duty saving of more than $100,000, encouraging them to trade their large family homes for smaller dwellings.  The move aims to free up crucial housing stock for growing families. Melissa Meehan

The Illawarra Mercury

Crownview Apartments’ stop work order renewed for third time
Construction at the troubled Crownview Apartments would have continued had the Building Commission not placed stop work orders on the site. Glen Humphries