Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

Before I begin, I will note the points of the previous speaker but I also note that personal attacks on the member for Griffith, I think, in the context of this debate are unhelpful when we're trying to have a reasoned conversation, which I'll try to begin now.

It would be great if there were a silver bullet that could fix the housing crisis, but, for young Australians, I think it is the height of cruelty to suggest that simply putting a cap on rents, for example, would instantly make housing affordable or available, any more than telling struggling families that nuclear power will reduce their power bills when it would be decades away.

The housing crisis has been a long time coming, it has a lot of causes, and it will take a lot of policy corrections and time to fix. The crisis is as deep as it is wide, and that's been reflected in the housing forums that I've held in my electorate of Goldstein. Rents are exorbitant, rising by 7.8 per cent a year—more than twice the rate of inflation—and the number of homes available for sale has been steadily falling since 2015. These days, a standard house costs 8.6 times the average disposable household income—twice as much as two decades ago. That means it's taking people an average of 11.4 years to save a 20 per cent deposit. The Australian dream has become a nightmare. It's the same story for renters. Two in five low-income households privately renting are experiencing rental stress.

Then there is the plight of an overlooked cohort affected by successive government's failure—that being older Australians, particularly older women. I often focus on women in this chamber because, as women, we have the odds stacked against us. We're underpaid, undervalued and overlooked in general across society. Older women who've put their careers on hold to raise children often struggle to find jobs when they're deemed 'past their prime'. It's an issue becoming more prevalent as our population ages; 29.1 per cent of our population is now aged over 55, up by close to five percent in the past decade. As a country, we must have a collective reckoning with what this means for our future as an older Australia. There will be more people out of the workforce, with fewer people to support them and increasing numbers of them locked out of the housing market. It's a recipe for resentment.

One in three women have experienced physical and or mental health issues that affected their financial and their housing situations. Older Australians are disproportionately affected, for example, by an inefficient Medicare system that's expensive and makes them worse off financially. This and factors like the gender and super pay gaps make it very difficult for young and older women alike to become financially stable and find suitable housing. The figures tell the tale: 270,000 older people are either homeless, marginally housed or are living in a home they can't afford. This means worse mental and physical health outcomes too.

Goldstein may be a comparatively wealthy electorate but it's not quarantined from the housing crisis. Women in my electorate have been sleeping in cars because of marital breakdown, and often are fleeing domestic violence situations which end in homelessness and housing stress. The housing crisis does not discriminate by postcode or who you are; it's certainly worse for those who are less well off, but it's a problem that extends to every part of the country. I acknowledge the words of the member for Mackellar, and the similar prices that are in effect across my electorate when it comes to buying and renting.

To help mend this crisis we must do several things, including increasing housing supply and making it easier to enter and exit the housing market. Current tax arrangements, like stamp duty, disincentivise moving and also affect labour market flexibility, thereby affecting our economy. I'm increasingly of the view that negative gearing rules should be changed, with perhaps some grandfathering for those who already own investment properties but limited to one investment property in the future. It won't do everything but it will do something to reduce the syndrome of first home buyers being outbid by investors. We should also look at reducing the capital gains tax discount, which analysts like Alan Kohler argue is more responsible than negative gearing for the explosion in prices over the past two decades. There is also the question of swapping stamp duty for land tax, something that would have to be carefully executed and which would require Commonwealth assistance.

I have supported the steps being taken by the government so far—not without reservation. I have not pretended that what has been done so far will fix the problem; we have much more to do.

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