<
https://theconversation.com/australias-banking-system-locks-many-muslims-out-of-first-home-buyer-schemes-heres-how-to-fix-it-283770>
"Australia’s housing policy has come a long way over the past year, as the
Albanese government tries to help more people buy their first home.
Last October, the federal government expanded its Home Guarantee Scheme,
removing income caps and opening the scheme to all first home buyers with a 5%
deposit.
Since then, it has also launched the Help To Buy shared equity scheme and
announced major reforms to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount.
The government claims these schemes are for everyone. One, however – the 5%
deposit scheme – has a significant blind spot. The scheme operates through a
panel of more than 30 approved lenders. But it doesn’t include a single Islamic
finance provider offering faith-compliant home loans.
For the many Muslim Australians who observe the Islamic prohibition of
riba
(interest), the door remains shut unless they compromise on their faith.
The exclusion from this scheme isn’t deliberate. It’s a side effect of the way
our banking system has been designed.
Here’s how Australia could follow the United Kingdom’s lead to update the
system and give Muslim home buyers a fair go."
This used to also apply to Christians ("usury").
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
