Andrew Bartlett (Queensland, Australian Democrats) Share this | Hansard source

Mr President, I ask a supplementary question. I ask the minister: is it true, despite all the statistics he runs off about wage increases and the like, that housing affordability has got significantly worse over the time of this government? The increase in the cost of housing has outstripped growth in the rise of wages. Will the government reconsider the recommendations made by the Productivity Commission report into this area that applied to the federal government, which the Treasurer rejected in June 2004, including examining the various tax incentives and distortions in the housing market, to see if there is more that the federal government can do to alleviate what is a very serious burden on a growing number of Australian families?