David Coleman (Banks, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I would like to make some remarks on the important issue in my electorate of housing affordability. I do want to address some questions to the minister in a moment, but first I would like to make some observations. In my electorate the median house price appears to be in the range of about $1.15 million. That is a very substantial amount. The Sydney property market has obviously increased significantly in recent years, and people do want government to take sensible measures on the issue of housing affordability. Very importantly, people in my electorate want government to take sensible, carefully calibrated measures that assist first home buyers but also do not undermine the stability of the housing market—because, after all, the housing market represents the majority of the wealth of the average Australian household and it is incumbent upon governments to be very thoughtful and cautious when making changes to any policy in this area.

In that vein, I was particularly pleased to see in the budget, in the housing affordability package, two particular policies. Firstly, there is the First Home Super Saver Scheme. This has been very well received in my electorate. It is a very sensible policy that allows individuals to save up to $30,000 towards the value of a home deposit through their superannuation scheme. Before people say that super is sacrosanct and you can't touch super, it is important to understand that this does not allow people to touch their super—it is only able to be accessed above and beyond the superannuation guarantee requirement. It gives people an opportunity to make use of a tax incentive to save for a first home. It is extraordinary that those opposite oppose this, because basically what they are saying is that government should not provide any tax incentive to first home buyers who are doing the hard yards, working the long hours, striving to save for that deposit—which of course is the most critical thing in getting into your first home. So the government has said, 'Let's provide a tax incentive to those hardworking families' but those opposite say it is a bad idea and cannot be done. That is a very foolish approach by those opposite.

The other policy I want to highlight which I think is particularly notable from the housing package is the policy in relation to reducing barriers to downsizing. For a lot of older people in my electorate, and there are literally thousands of older people in my electorate who are sitting on housing assets of very substantial value, they are often reluctant to sell those assets because of tax and other consequences. The government is saying that from 1 July next year people over 65 will be able to take $300,000 of proceeds from the sale of a home and make a non-concessional contribution to super. That is going to encourage people to be more relaxed about selling those homes that are perhaps too big for them. And that is a good thing because it brings more supply onto the market and, in a sensible, calibrated way, assists first home buyers who are looking for opportunities to enter. So these are very thoughtful and sensible policies.

Those opposite have some particularly bad policies in this area. They want to abolish negative gearing, which has been around for 100 years, and they also want to increase capital gains tax by 50 per cent on everything. As part of their so-called housing affordability policy, they say: 'Let's increase capital gains tax by 50 per cent on everything.' And that includes farms, factories, commercial properties, cafes—so, under the guise of a housing affordability policy, they say: 'Increase the investment tax by 50 per cent on everything and everyone.' And do you know why they are doing that, Acting Deputy Speaker Vamvakinou? Because it involves additional tax revenue. That is what it is about. It is about a tax increase, as opposed to housing affordability—a very poorly thought-through policy. Minister, my question is: could you please update the chamber on the government's progress in surplus property divestment? Can you please advise if there has been any improvement in public availability of data on Commonwealth leases? And could you also please touch on the government's approach to property divestment and the relationship to housing affordability? What else is the government doing to assist young Australians looking to buy their first homes?

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