Member for Ripon Louise Staley has blasted the Victorian government over its Homebuyers' Fund, announced earlier in October.
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Ms Staley labelled the Fund's omission of certain areas "blatant discrimination" against prospective homebuyers in much of country Victoria.
The Stawell Times-News previously reported that thousands of country Victorians were excluded from the scheme.
Those who live in Ararat, Stawell, Beaufort, Avoca, St Arnaud, Donald and Charlton, among others, would be unable to apply for funding under the program.
Ms Staley said the scheme's fine print revealed not all Victorians were equal when it came to home ownership.
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"On what possible basis can some country towns smaller than Ararat be included but Ararat and many other Ripon residents are deemed not worthy by the government to be helped into the great Australian dream of home ownership?" Ms Staley said.
"So many country towns have seen massive property price growth that has cut young local families out of the market, yet the Victorian government has deliberately excluded them."
The Homebuyer Fund provides eligible homebuyers with a "contribution of up to 25% towards the purchase price of their property, reducing their minimum required deposit to 5% and avoiding the need to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance." 1
Ms Staley said the Victorian government must open up the scheme to all Victorians.
"I am calling on the Treasurer to step up and admit... that his big-city mentality is discriminating against country people and open the fund to all eligible Victorians," she said.
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