Andrew Wallace (Fisher, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

No, I'm not a lot older, I'm only 54. I'm a spring chicken! I say that with jest. In all seriousness, this bill—and we support it for this reason—will provide an incentive for older Australians to be able to downsize their home, move into a smaller home, perhaps, and free up those larger family homes for families.

We know that, despite the great work that the former Assistant Treasurer has done over the last six years with all of the programs and all of the incentives that we have provided, there is still a massive shortfall in housing in this country. It doesn't matter where you go or what state you're in. We're all saying the same thing. Master Builders are constantly saying we are not building enough homes, and it is very clear that that is the case, because of the number of people. In my home state of Queensland, particularly around the Sunshine Coast, we have a vacancy rate somewhere around 0.2 per cent. We have people who are working and have good jobs but simply can't rent a house. They just can't find a house. This is particularly so for families.

So this bill will not only assist and provide a greater degree of certainty to older Australians—people over age 55, apparently, so you'd be right—

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