Sally Sitou (Reid, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

When my parents bought their first home 40 years ago, the dream of homeownership was within reach. A home cost about three times the average household income, and you could save for a deposit in just four years. When I bought my first home 15 years ago, it had already become twice as hard. Homes were six times the average income, and it took eight years to save a deposit. Today, for a young Australian, it's even harder. Homes cost around nine times a typical household income, and it takes close to 12 years to save a deposit. In less than three generations, we've made it three times harder to buy a home—three times longer to save, homes cost three times more, relative to income. And that's not just a statistic; it's a whole generation locked out of homeownership. We need to fix this, and we are. At every budget, we've invested in building more homes and helping first home buyers. In this budget, we've delivered the biggest tax reforms in over a decade. Changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax for property investment will help level the playing field so more Australians can get a fair shot at owning a home.

See this speech in context