Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the answers given by the Minister for Community Services (Senator Scullion) to questions without notice asked by Senators Webber and Campbell today relating to housing affordability.

In the main issue of housing affordability, Australians do not have a government that runs on sound economic principles, with rigorous policy development processes working for the benefit of Australian working families. We do have a government that has one guiding principle and one guiding principle only—that is, the marketing spin of its research agency, Crosby Textor. It is a government that will do anything, say anything and spend any amount to win office in the forthcoming election. It is a government desperately manufacturing lines and policies on the run in an attempt to create an agenda. We see that when it goes to its own backbench and says: ‘There is a whiteboard. What we want are some good ideas about housing affordability.’ It is too late. Time is too short. It is a short-termism that is typical of this government. It is not a way of engaging with your backbench. It demonstrates that the government does not have any policy and does not have any ability to lead the debate on housing affordability. Instead, it wants to simply jot down ideas on a whiteboard and then wipe them off after the next election.

We have a government that is more interested in spin. It does not respect the difficulty that working families are facing out in the community. It is not mindful of the struggles and challenges that working families have to meet every day. Let us look at the evidence. Over the last few weeks we have seen the attempts of the Prime Minister to promote himself as a strong man. The government mentioned today how he is out there in a strong way. But what he is doing is a furphy. He is aggressively attacking the states but as proxies for the opposition. We have seen the truth come out, though. It is about pork-barrelling and largesse reaching new levels from this government. It knows only one way, and that one way is to spend its way out of a problem. It has done that every time. You see that with phrases like ‘aspirational nationalism’. It tries to come up with phrases to jag the public’s interest. Stop the rot. Do not try to find phrases like ‘aspirational nationalism’ to get people’s attention. Come up with a good policy. Come up with a proper approach. Come up with something other than short-termism, something other than the most ugly and clumsy juxtaposition of ideas and language since the Prime Minister brought us ‘incentivisation’ back in 1987.

What we do know from Crosby Textor is that Howard will play a brand of federalism politics that is likely neither to work nor to endure as a template for government. Working families are juggling work commitments, increased consumer prices and increased uncertainty about their working conditions. They are worried about their children in the workplace as well. They are worried about how they are going to afford their houses. They are worried about how they are going to get to work, because this government has not built critical infrastructure. They are worried about how they are going to compete in the marketplace. They are worried about how they are going to ensure that all of those matters are addressed. This government has not invested in significant broadband services. In fact, all this government has done is find a label to stick across everything.

The Prime Minister said that people have never been better off, but it is reported in the press that people are struggling and losing their houses because this government does not care. The research shows that the number of households enduring mortgage stress will rise above 600,000 in the coming months. The Australian Mortgage Industry Report, from Fujitsu Australia and JPMorgan, reveals that 138,000 families may be forced to give up their homes because of mortgage stress. This is how out of touch this 11-year-old government has become. It is out of touch and does not care. As working families tighten their belts, this government embarks on a spending spree which is devoid of any purpose other than keeping Mr and Mrs Howard in Kirribilli House. Senator Minchin summed it up some time ago. In terms of the industrial relations debate, they do not want to tell us what they are going to do or provide any future direction— (Time expired)

Sue Boyce (Queensland, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I would also like to take note of answers in relation to housing affordability. I find it completely bemusing that it would cause concern to the opposition that, for 2½ solid hours yesterday, members of the coalition managed to come up with good, fresh, innovative ideas to help this country. We do not just have committees and reference groups to think about what to do; good ideas have been a hallmark of this government and will continue to be so. It is somewhat bizarre to think that having good ideas would be seen as a failure or a weakness of any sort.

Let us look at some of the facts behind the housing affordability situation. Yes, there are some families struggling and, yes, our government is working to assist those families. Let us also look at what the state governments are doing to assist those families. In all states there is a department of housing. What are they doing to help families with any problems? What have they done to develop more rental stock? What have they done to assist people who are in any sort of crisis—apart from selling off a few houses and not worrying about demand or supply? Let us look at what they have done to assist those families who may be about to experience mortgage stress. What have the states done with their growth taxes such as the GST, stamp duty, land tax and even, shamefully, their growing revenues from gambling? What do they do with those funds, which might assist families who have any concerns about their ability to afford houses?

Let us flip that around and look at it from the other perspective. What has the federal government done to assist working families? We are proud that we can say ‘working families’, because more families than ever before are currently in work. This is part of the reason why these people can afford mortgages to buy houses. More people than ever before are in a position to get themselves into the housing market.

Let us also look at what we have done in terms of reducing tax over the past 12 months. The new tax rates that came in in July this year give families the opportunity to invest that little bit more in their mortgage. In fact, if you look at the current mortgage situation, you will find that more than 25 per cent of people are more than a year ahead with their mortgage payments. Half the people in Australia who have mortgages are ahead with their repayments. That is the very sensible attitude that a lot of Australians have taken to give themselves a buffer in case of problems that might arise—not small increases in interest rates but the dramas and crises that can come up and affect any family as it goes through life.

We should also look at the Reserve Bank’s notes on the views of households about their personal finances. Most households report that their personal finances are stronger today than 12 months ago. They have continued to reap the benefits of a strong economy with high employment, lower tax rates and a lower take from the federal government. That is not so, unfortunately, in terms of the state governments. The states were dragged kicking and screaming to get rid of their taxes on bank deposits and other areas—things they were supposed to give up in exchange for getting the GST. What have they done with those growth taxes they have received from the federal government? They have done very little to help families. Senator Ludwig mentioned infrastructure. I thought roads, buses and gutters were the province of state governments. This is where we should be looking if we want to look at housing affordability— (Time expired)

Trish Crossin (NT, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to take note of the answers given to us today by Senator Scullion in relation to housing affordability. This is an absolute policy-free zone when it comes to the Howard government. If it is not a policy-free zone then it is certainly a policy area where there are many different ideas and messages coming from the government members of parliament. One only has to look at the papers today to see that there are almost as many different policies on housing affordability as there are government MPs in this place.

According to newspaper reports today, policy No. 1 has come from Mrs Mirabella and Senator Ferguson, who are suggesting that first home buyers should receive the benefits of negative gearing on the home they live in. Policy No. 2 came from Mrs Danna Vale, suggesting that the Commonwealth should release land and build homes with the private sector. But wait, there is more policy. Policy No. 3 comes from Mr Pat Farmer, who has suggested that the government should match dollar for dollar, up to $50,000, the money first home owners save for their deposit. Last but not least, there is policy No. 4, which is from all the other MPs in this government, suggesting that the first home owners grant should be raised.

Coalition backbenchers are throwing policies around like they are going out of fashion. That is because they are desperate to have one clear, consistent policy from this government when it comes to housing affordability. But the Prime Minister and his cabinet ministers have been unable to lock in a concrete policy on how they want to tackle this issue. They are caught in a bind. There have been nine consecutive interest rate rises under this government and five interest rate rises since the last election. The pressure on this government to come up with a policy and plan for the future, an idea about how they will tackle this if they are re-elected, has caught them out again with a lack of policy on housing. We know that it is embarrassing for their backbenchers, who reiterate three or four different policies in any one day just to try to get this government to lay down a plan for the future and a plan for people who want to buy their own homes. Mr Peter Lindsay only last week blamed young people themselves for being priced out of the housing market.

After 11 long years in government and with a housing market that has frozen out most young people and average wage earners, it is astonishing that this government is in such disarray when it comes to having a plan or policy for housing affordability. At this point in time, statistics show us that homeownership amongst young people has dropped during this government’s term in office. Last week, the Real Estate Institute of Australia published figures showing that only 16.7 per cent of homes financed in June were purchased by first home buyers, compared with the historic average of 20 per cent. So the number of young people buying and purchasing their own homes is dropping. This government refuses to accept those statistics or to act on them.

According to Mortgage Choice’s latest survey, 28 per cent of Australians will be aged 41 years or older when they buy their first home. Even sadder, hundreds of thousands of Australians will be simply unable to ever afford to buy a home without any action by this federal government. In fact, back on 18 July the Australian stated that this is clearly all a bit beyond the Prime Minister. And clearly it is a bit beyond this Prime Minister and this government to come up with a plan to tackle housing affordability.

We know that data released this year also shows that purchasing a home in a capital city has become even tougher, with the Australian dream of homeownership slipping further out of the reach of families. This is a government that has no plan for housing affordability and no blueprint for what it will do in the future. It languishes in the past and pretends it has a track record on this when the statistics show us otherwise. After nine consecutive interest rate rises and five interest rate rises since the last election, this is a policy-free zone— (Time expired)

Mathias Cormann (WA, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I also rise to take note of the answers given by Senator Scullion. Another day in the Senate and another day of empty Labor Party rhetoric. We on this side of the chamber take the pressures on working families very seriously. That is why we are focused on a strong economy, creating jobs, increasing real wages and keeping taxes low. The reality is that, in an environment where we have a growing population, the main thing that we can do to improve housing affordability is increase the supply of affordable land. If senators on the other side of the chamber were really so concerned about improving housing affordability across Australia, they would be phoning the Premier of New South Wales, the Premier of South Australia, the Premier of Victoria and the Premier of Western Australia. I call on my esteemed colleague Senator Ruth Webber to phone her very good friend the Premier of Western Australia, Alan Carpenter, and the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure, Alannah MacTiernan, and call on them to release more land and cut red tape, and call on the Treasurer of Western Australia, Eric Ripper, to reduce the extreme property taxes, stamp duties and land taxes—these are great disincentives for investors to get involved in the housing market—and to make affordable housing available to renters across Western Australia and Australia.

All we have heard today is empty rhetoric. We need a plan for a strong economy and a plan to create jobs and increase real wages, which is why the workplace relations reforms that the Howard government introduced in 1996 and subsequently are so important. I had the great privilege of talking about this last night. What is Labor proposing? Labor is proposing to abolish Australian workplace agreements. Labor is proposing to abolish the Australian Building and Construction Commission. Not only is that going to push the cost of housing up; it is going to have a negative impact on real wages and employment and it is going to make it more difficult for people across Australia to afford their own homes. It is an absolute disgrace.

I have actually experienced, in my own home state of Western Australia, exactly what can happen when Labor comes into government and pursues those sorts of policies—indeed, particularly in the building and construction industry, which is so relevant when it comes to affordable housing. Straight after the Gallop Labor government was elected in 2001, in less than two weeks unions were going on a rampage across all of the major building sites across Western Australia. Of course, should Labor be successful—God help us!—at the next election, we are very likely to see exactly the same thing. The impact of that is less affordable housing, not more affordable housing.

Senator Ludwig spoke about marketing and how the government is focused on marketing itself. I do not think that there are any lessons we can take from the Labor Party on that. Today, I came across an article in the Age headed: ‘Bracks’ water ads broke budget’. I thought I would read that into Hansard, because it is quite outrageous. The article states:

Controversial advertisements starring former premier Steve Bracks spruiking the Government’s water plans cost taxpayers more than $1.7 million—70 per cent more than Mr Bracks admitted at the time.

Documents obtained by The Age under freedom of information reveal taxpayers funded television, radio, print and internet advertisements, shown in June, had a price tag of $1.7 million.

Those are, of course, those infamous ads showing the then Premier, Stephen Bracks, coming down in the helicopter and trying to sell himself.

The issue of housing affordability is a very serious issue. There are many families across Australia aspiring to buy their first home and, in the current environment, finding it tough. We are the first ones to acknowledge that. All of us as policymakers across Australia, whether we are at the state or the federal level, ought to very seriously reflect and consider what sorts of policies are able to make a positive difference to those families across Australia. Those families are not going to be helped by empty political rhetoric from the other side. If you, the Labor Party, are really seriously concerned, if you are really seriously interested in making a difference, pick up the phone, talk to your premiers, talk to your state ministers and get them to cut red tape, get them to reduce their property taxes and get them to get off their backsides and do something about it.

I feel very passionate about this because in Western Australia the levels of taxes and property taxes—the disincentives for people to buy their own home and for people to invest in properties that they might make available for affordable rental housing—are just so enormous. We are having very serious issues, particularly in our regional areas. (Time expired)

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

All I can say, with all due respect to you, Senator Cormann, is that I must live in a different part of Perth to you, because if you were aware of what is going on in Perth you would not be interested in the blame game, which is all that those opposite do; you would actually understand what is happening in the northern suburbs. You would understand that in the electorate of Stirling 34 per cent of people are suffering from mortgage stress. When I am in that community, people come and see me regularly and complain about the $300 a week they have to pay to rent a house in Balga or Nollamara. You would not be interested in playing the blame game; you would be interested in sitting down and talking about real solutions, if you really do care about those people.

Obviously, your colleague Peter Lindsay from Queensland understands, although he likes to blame young people themselves. Other members of your party are open about the fact that there really is a housing affordability crisis. They talk about young families under mortgage stress being forced to sit on milk crates. What we need to do is work together and address the problem. All of those people in Stirling, those 34 per cent of people who are suffering from mortgage stress, remember your Prime Minister and your Treasurer—L1 and L2, as they are colloquially known around here now—promising to keep interest rates at record lows. Five interest rate increases later, they do not believe it when all of a sudden you have a brainstorming session and decide that you care. The way that you demonstrate that you care is to blame-shift—blame someone else. The Treasurer, after the last interest rate rise, said:

House prices are higher than they have been and they are higher than they have been because more people are in work and more people are able to afford to borrow to purchase more expensive housing.

When asked whether there is no crisis, the Treasurer replied:

Well, no.

You cannot have it both ways. You cannot say, ‘Yes, there is a crisis and we are going to blame everyone else,’ even though you are the party that has been in government for 11 long years; you are the party that has been responsible for the five successive interest rate rises since the last election. You have the Treasurer—L2, as he is colloquially known now—saying, ‘Well, actually there is no crisis.’ He does not seem to accept that there is a crisis. You can go for the third option, which is the option that Senator Ludwig was referring to, which is to simply come up with another marketing plan: get your mates from Crosby Textor out there and work out what the spin needs to be.

In the real world—the real world that is the northern suburbs of Perth, where 34 per cent of people are suffering mortgage stress—working families are facing the prospect of not being able to afford to buy their own home. They are facing the prospect of not being able to afford to pay $300 a week to live in Balga or Nollamara. That is the real world; that is what is happening today. After 11 long years, your government has done nothing to help people face those challenges. Those families are obliged to pay nearly one-third of their incomes on home loan repayments—the highest ever percentage of their income. That is the Howard-Costello-Vaile legacy—whoever wants to claim responsibility for this government’s legacy—to the northern suburbs of Perth. And what is the answer? Blame someone else. There was a scattergun, brainstorming exercise yesterday, where we had, all of a sudden, lots of different issues and lots of different options. The government just play the blame game, rather than accepting responsibility and helping those families who are in mortgage stress or helping the young families who are looking to buy their first home—and rather than actually showing that you accept some responsibility for five interest rate rises in a row.

When you add to that those families spending over one-third of their income trying to meet their mortgage repayments and the uncertainties they face in the labour market, thanks to Work Choices—that labour market system whose name the government dare not speak anymore—it is little wonder that families are feeling very nervous and very stressed about the future. This government’s typical solution is to take a scattergun approach, blame everyone else and then get Crosby Textor to test a few of the lines that were tried— (Time expired)

Question agreed to.