Bill Shorten (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. Does the Prime Minister agree with his Treasury Secretary, who said today, 'There is unequivocally a housing bubble in Sydney and in higher priced areas of Melbourne'?

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As someone who, along with a bank, owns a house in Sydney, I do hope that our housing prices are increasing. I do want housing to be affordable, but nevertheless I also want house prices to be modestly increasing.

Opposition Members:

Opposition members interjecting—

Mrs Bronwyn Bishop (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There will be silence on my left.

Ms O'Neil interjecting—

The member for Hotham is warned! The Prime Minister has the call.

Tony Abbott (Warringah, Liberal Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The important thing is to ensure that our economy is as strong as possible so that people have as much resources at their disposal as possible, have jobs so that they can go out there and buy the things they need, including the housing that they need. That is the important thing and that is what this government is doing. This government is trying to make housing more available. We are trying to make housing more affordable. The best way to make housing more affordable is to keep interest rates low and stable, and that is exactly what is happening, and to try to ensure that the economy is strong, and that is what we are doing with the instant asset write-off and the other measures associated with this budget.

So I welcome the statements of the Treasury Secretary and I say: if the Leader of the Opposition is concerned that things are happening that should not be happening, the best thing he can do is work with us to get the small business budget through the parliament as quickly as possible. That is the best thing that you can do, because that will put more money in people's pockets. That will mean more jobs that people can have and hold down, better jobs that people can have and hold down. If the Leader of the Opposition wants to boost the economy, if he wants to make every Australian better off, let the small business budget boost come through the parliament as quickly as possible. I invite him to join with the government and do precisely that.