Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Hansard source

Thank you so much, Speaker, for that strong action. I think we all feel we can breathe a little bit fresher air now that that shadow minister has gone. Now, let me come back to it. Super for housing was one of the most dud policies that anyone could have come up with. In fact, the economist Saul Eslake memorably said that, if this were implemented, it would be one of the worst public policy decisions of the 21st century. That's quite a feat. It looked like the shadow minister for housing and homelessness had read the overwhelming evidence about this. He told the ABC earlier this term they won't have that policy again, and, in a moment of uncharacteristic accuracy, said that he saw that it could make the problem worse. But here's something that will not surprise the House. There is dissent and disunity in the Liberal Party of Australia.

The shadow Treasurer had been in his role for mere moments before he was bounced up into the ABC studio, and he undermined his own shadow housing minister. He said that the real problem with their super for housing policy was that it was 'too timid'. I want, Speaker, to understand that the shadow Treasurer not only wants to privatise Medicare but believes that work from home is apartheid, he does not believe in paid parental leave, because he says it's not his fault that women have children, and it looks like he now wants to jack up house prices and make younger generations poorer. The chaos in the coalition continues. They may have changed their leader, but they cannot change who they are, and that is a political party without a single sensible thing to say about housing, which is one of the biggest challenges facing our country. (Time expired)

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