Ash Ambihaipahar (Barton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

Housing is the biggest issue in Barton and across the country. Labor has a vision to ensure that we address this issue head on and deliver, especially for our young people finding it hard to get their foot in the door. There is a multilevered approach to address housing, and Labor's announcement to fast-track the five per cent deposit is huge. This was to be introduced in January next year, but it has been fast-tracked to October this year because first home buyers need help right now. There are young people all over Barton carefully saving for a deposit.

I remember that, when I first moved out of home, I rented a tiny unit in South Hurstville, and I was working full-time and also studying, carefully putting my savings aside each week. My partner, now my husband, was also doing the same, and we did not have the help of our parents. But, because I was a practising solicitor, our bank lowered the required deposit from 20 per cent to 10 per cent and waived the mortgage insurance. Without this, we simply would not have been able to purchase our first home and begin our lives together. So, whilst the coalition would like to act like this policy is a far-flung, fanciful idea to benefit the rich, as they were saying this morning, a very similar policy helped me and my husband enter the market. I was lucky at that time to have our deposit lowered because I was a solicitor and purchasing in a hard environment to save, and now it is harder. You should not— (Time expired)

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