Prediction : next election liberals win and slash public service numbers (hopefully not me
) and house prices plummet. Canberra becomes bankruptcy capital of australia..
This has been hashed and rehashed in a large number of threads. Do a search.
But in essence - it is a pointless worry. Generally when ANY government reduces the size of one dept, all it means is an icrease in a different one and a reshuffle of resources. Sometimes (as in the GCF) it may mean a 'hold' is put on recruitment - but the overall numbers either remain or still somehow find a way to increase, just at a slower rate then normal. Also this is always a 'temporary' set back and inevitably things return to status quo.
Truth is, you don't have to like Canberra. I hated it before I moved here, now I could see myself living here forever. It is amazing how quickly you get used to spending $5 on a cuppa and $15 on a salad sandwich.
But if you are so convinced that housing here HAS to plumet, I think you are deluded or so completely wrapped up in your our negative bias you cann't see the truth. The truth is no matter how much you love or hate canberra, this is the Nation's Capital city. The Politicians, the government, have a vested interest in ensuring it doesn't just survive, but thrives - if things do start to look bleak (which I really doubt, but hey for arguments sake anything is possible), do you really think those pollies (both state and federal) are just going to sit by and let things get too bad??? Do you know how many of them own real estate here????
But like I said, if you don't like Canberra, fair enough - don't buy here. Canberra has a huge transient population made up of many people who wouldn't want to stay here. But don't assume that because that is true there isn't an equally large % of the population that love Canberra and wouldn't dream of going anywhere else, and have an expectation to retire here - and certainly don't forget those who were born, reared and raised in Canberra and have never even visited the other side of town to go shopping, let alone considered moving out of state altogether.