After the auction politics prior to each election, most promises are broken as politicians scramble for power.It got more heated to offer more housing commitments, pensions promises, better health service and other goodies to win votes with these political proposals coming mainly from opposition parties.
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The same happened in 2007, when there was a famous headline in a national paper called payback time in a front-page editorial.We are still waiting on the Tech University after the last election as some of the players involved drag out the situation.
If we are to build more houses and recruit more doctors and nurses then we could adopt some ideas from abroad.
Over in the Netherlands, they are keen in bringing in skilled workers in particular fields.
They have a list of high skill occupations where they offer an income tax discount for 3 years if people plan to move and work there.We have a family member working in a university there and he benefits from it.This had been suggested here by one political party in the past and by some employers but was dropped after complaints.This could overcome the competition for labour from other countries like the middle east, where teachers and hospital workers like to earn tax freeMoney to build a mortgage deposit prior to returning home.
An income tax discount of 30 per cent is offered in Holland and could be a great incentive for a young doctor, nurse, trades man/ builder in the construction sector, where there are many shortages. Primary school teachers are another. The persons would need to be away for 3 years or more to qualify.
This could help bring workers back, it might create some tensions, but doing nothing is not an answer to a labour shortage.It could help the health sector where there are so many vacancies.The Dutch are a nation of pragmatists with a high population and very efficient economy and it works for them. The incoming workers would be behind in pension entitlements so puts them behind anyway versus current workers.
We reckon is an idea worth exploring no politicians put it forward as there were no votes in it.
Reducing VAT, making planning easier and less strict building standard regulation would reduce cost of housing and speed up the supply.Unless these are done promises on housing are limited. There is still a huge difficult in getting mortgages also.
The latter had been proposed but Governments do not listen it appears and some Ministers we have are not very experienced to try out new solution. Whoever is in power more risks will need to be taken to tackle the various gridlock issues that voters want solved.