Stamp duty is a tax on moving house. And right now, it is jamming up the whole market.

Here is how it works. When a couple whose kids have grown up and moved out wants to sell the family home and buy something smaller, stamp duty hits them with a bill worth tens of thousands of dollars. So they stay put. Who could blame them? Why pay a fortune to downsize?

The result is a bottleneck. Big family homes stay occupied by one or two people who no longer need the space. Young families who need those homes cannot get into them. And every family below them stays stuck too.

This is not about blaming empty nesters. It is about a tax that punishes people for making a sensible move. The tax freezes people in place, and everyone pays the price.

Building more houses helps. But no amount of new construction fully fixes it while the homes we already have sit locked up by a bad tax. We have thousands of family homes across Altona, Sydenham & Keilor Downs that could suit a growing family perfectly. Stamp duty keeps the door shut.

The demand is simple. Cut stamp duty so people can move.

I will fight to cut and reform Victorian stamp duty so families can buy the home that fits their life. Free up the homes we already have. Let people move without a tax bill standing in the way.

Here is what that means in practice:

• Cut stamp duty so downsizing is worth it, not punished.
• Free up large family homes for the young families who need them.
• Give first-home buyers a real shot at getting in.
• End the bottleneck that new building alone cannot fix.

These are not radical ideas. They are the basics of a housing market that works for the people in it.

A family should be able to move into a home that fits. An older couple should be able to move into something smaller. A tax should never be the thing standing in the way.

Sign the petition. Cut stamp duty and get families moving.

Add your name  to cut and reform Victorian stamp duty. Then share it with a neighbour, a friend or a young family still struggling to find a home.