15 February 2017

A new poll has revealed an overwhelming majority of NSW homeowners (84%) oppose the Government’s plan sell off of the states’ land titles registry the LPI.

The research from the Institution of Surveyors NSW found only six per cent of people supported the sell off. While more than 70 per cent of people were unaware of the NSW Government’s plans to privatise the world-class registry, most opposed it when they learnt what was being proposed

The survey comes off the back of strong opposition to the sale by organisations as diverse as the NSW Police Association, ICAC, the journalist union - MEAA, the Law Society, the Real Estate Institute, and the Royal Australian Historical Society.

Greens Treasury Spokesperson Justin Field said, “This poll is yet more evidence that the Coalition Government doesn’t have community support for the sale of this essential and monopoly public asset.

“The NSW community knows a dud deal and the more they find out about this sale, the more opposition grows.

“The community is right to be concerned about increasing risk of fraud, misuse of personal data and increasing costs of property purchases as a result of the privatisation. These are the same concerns professional bodies and the Greens have been expressing since this sale was first proposed.

“The LPI is widely recognised as one of the best land title registries in the world. The service is secure and provides low cost property transfers while earning a profit for the taxpayer.

“The Berejiklian government is putting at risk the security of people’s homes and is undermining its  own commitment to affordable housing by proceeding with this rushed privatisation.

“The Government’s plan represents a one-off “sugar hit” but it threatens to undermine the true value of this asset to the people of NSW as a safe and secure property transfer service.

“The change of leadership within the Government, including changes with the finance and treasury portfolios, offers an opportunity to reconsider this sale which is clearly not in the public interest,” he said.