Lucy Wicks (Robertson, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Assistant Treasurer, Minister for Housing and Minister for Homelessness, Social and Community Housing. Will the minister please update the House on how the Morrison government's housing policies have supported Australians into home ownership and how they are playing a key role in Australia's economic recovery, and is the minister aware of any alternative approaches?

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Robertson for her question. She has had an enduring commitment and dedication to home ownership, to aspiration and to first home buyers, as does our Prime Minister.

At the last election, there was a real choice for Australians. On one hand, we had a focus on first home buyers' aspiration, and, on the other hand, with the Labor Party, we had the politics of envy and really no strategy for home ownership.

Since the last election, the government has put in place a number of programs to support first home buyers, to support the residential construction industry and to support home ownership, whether it be the HomeBuilder program, with $25,000 grants to encourage people and help people purchase a new home, or our home guarantee schemes, which include the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, which has helped first home buyers purchase a home with a deposit of as little as five per cent, or our Family Home Guarantee, which we announced in the budget, which is assisting single parents—predominantly, single mothers—to purchase a home with a deposit of two per cent, or the First Home Super Saver Scheme, which helps first home buyers accelerate their savings, because we know getting the deposit together is the hardest part of purchasing a home.

This week, we released data that is very encouraging. It shows that, amongst those four programs, since the last election, 320,000 Australians are in a home today directly because of one of those programs put in place by our Prime Minister and this government. That means every single person in this chamber today will have, on average, more than 2,000 people in your electorate who are in a home thanks to the Morrison government.

I'm asked about alternative policies or alternative approaches. Very disappointingly, we didn't get much help from the Labor Party during the pandemic, and the HomeBuilder program was a prime example of that. We have had 135,000 HomeBuilder projects, and it was opposed by the Labor Party.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The HomeBuilder program was opposed by the Labor Party.

Opposition members interjecting—

Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Assistant Treasurer will resume his seat for one moment. The member for Lalor is warned.

Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Labor's very touchy about their record on this because they opposed the HomeBuilder program and criticised it every single day and 135,000 projects have been confirmed under the HomeBuilder program. More than 250,000 Australians are in a home with the help of the HomeBuilder program, and the Labor Party opposes it. The Leader of the Opposition, in remarks related to HomeBuilder, said it was funding pearl taps and gold baths. I can tell the Leader of the Opposition that it's helped first home buyers get into a home.