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

My question is to the Prime Minister. In the event that the government's top economic adviser is right, does the Prime Minister have a plan for housing affordability for young Australians who are locked out of the housing market?

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

What we do not want to do is to jeopardise the future of Australian families who are buying their homes by reducing the value of their biggest asset. That is the problem with the Leader of the Opposition's truly bizarre line of questioning today: he is saying to the homebuyers of Australia, 'I want your asset to be worth less.' That is what he is saying. He wants that asset—that they have invested their heart and soul in—to be worth less. That is what he wants.

Mr Tony Burke (Watson, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Finance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Madam Speaker, I rise on a point of order. When quotes are being given from the Treasury secretary, there has to be some limit to the verballing from this Prime Minister.

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

The member knows perfectly well that is not a proper point of order, and we will not have it again.

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

What this government wants to do is produce a strong and prosperous economy for a safe and secure Australia.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Why is debt up? Why is the deficit up? Why is unemployment up? Why are taxes up?

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

The member for Sydney will desist.

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

I do not want for a second the price of people's homes, the worth of people's biggest asset, to fall. That is the last thing I want, and it comes passing strange for the Labor Party to say that they want the value of people's homes to fall. That is what they are saying—that they want the value of people's homes to fall. Let me read from a statement which came out just a few minutes ago from the Governor of the Reserve Bank. He said:

Credit is recording moderate growth overall, with stronger lending to businesses—

That is good—

and growth in lending to the housing market broadly steady …

That is good too. The Governor of the Reserve Bank went on to say:

Dwelling prices continue to rise strongly in Sydney, though trends have been more varied in a number of other cities.

Let me repeat that:

Dwelling prices continue to rise strongly in Sydney, though trends have been more varied in a number of other cities.

Why does this Leader of the Opposition want to punish the people of Sydney? Why does he want to punish the people of Sydney? Why does he want to make policy based on what is happening in one city for the whole of the country?

What this proves is that this Leader of the Opposition is a menace to the economic welfare of the people of Australia. That is what he is. He just does not get it. He does not like aspiration. He does not like people who want to have a go. It is a party that is more interested in welfare than work, it is a party that does not even want people to work for the dole and it is a party which—as a result of this repeated line of questioning we can clearly understand—wants your house price to fall. That is the last thing that any responsible government would want and it is certainly not something that this government would ever consider.