Fatima Payman (WA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to talk about the great, big tax rort—the elephant in the room—disguised as a housing policy. Nowadays, the Australian dream of owning your own home is a distant fantasy and the housing market is an absolute nightmare. And why is that? Well, let me tell you.

Young Australians know exactly where to point the finger. Recently I asked my followers on Instagram about what they wanted me to talk about today. The results are in. Do you know what they want Canberra to hear? Please do something, anything, about negative gearing. Young Australians aren't stupid. We know this fancy sounding term is just the tax system's way of handing out massive freebies to people who are already doing pretty well. Meanwhile, young Australians are stuck renting, watching house prices skyrocket and wondering if they'll ever be able to afford their own home.

Let's be clear: negative gearing isn't just unfair; it's harmful. It distorts the housing market, turning what should be homes for families into little collectables in a giant game of Monopoly. And guess what? The ones holding all the property cards aren't the young families trying to get a foot in the door; they're the wealthy investors with multiple properties under their belts. Negative gearing costs taxpayers over $4 billion each year, with nearly a third of that going into the pockets of the top 10 per cent of earners. That's billions of dollars that could be better spent on things that would actually help the next generation own a home.

To all of my fellow young Australians out there wondering if you'll ever own your own home, I hear you, and I'm here to say, 'Enough is enough.' Let's stop this madness and build a fairer system where owning a home is more than just a dream and is a reality.

On behalf of all young Australians, please, let's do something, anything, about negative gearing.