Ruth Webber (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. Is the minister aware that the number of families who own their own home outright has actually fallen by 150,000 during the term of the Howard government? Given the importance of home ownership for financial security in retirement, can the minister explain how this collapse in home ownership helps to address the financial implications of an ageing population, identified in the government’s own Intergenerational report? Why has the Howard government spent the last five years ignoring the housing affordability crisis in this country?