Government is right to end higher first home grant

The global economy is in the worst state since the Great Depression, the Australian economy is fast following, unemployment is rising and, of course, the Government is bidding for election in the next 18 months.
Those factors put Labor in the most precarious of positions. It needs to implement a policy framework that acts on two fronts -- to cushion the rising fallout but also to position Australia for the economic rebound.
It is this conundrum that should force the Government to scrap the bolstered first home owners grant that was part of the stimulus package designed in October last year.
However, the timing of the policy's exit from the national agenda is proving confusing.
At inception, the Government had warned that the increased grants were not permanent and would finish on June 30 -- a move that prompted a flood of first home buyers to hit the streets around Australia every Saturday morning to take advantage of the cash boost.