House debates

Wednesday, 2 June 2021

Statements by Members

Housing Affordability

4:08 pm

Photo of Amanda RishworthAmanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Early Childhood Education) Share this | | Hansard source

Housing affordability for young Australians is at crisis point. The data shows that a person under the age of 25 on a median income is unlikely to be able to either rent or purchase a home on their own in South Australia. A couple aged 25 to 34 on a median income would be likely to be able to purchase a house in Adelaide but would require seven years to save a deposit. In South Australia, we have one of the most affordable states for housing compared to others, and it's still difficult for young Australians to rent or purchase a home.

The latest homeownership data reveals that only 10 per cent of Australians under the age of 25 and just over 30 per cent of those aged 25 to 35 own their own home, and it has been getting harder and harder as time has gone on. According to the comparison site Finder, borrowing from the bank of mum and dad accounts for $29 billion annually. They are the nation's ninth-largest mortgage lender and a port of call for almost 4,000 young Australians every month. Because owning a home is so out of reach for young Australians, they are having to turn to their parents. What happens to those young Australians if the bank of mum and dad can't afford to lend to them? They go without. They're not able to do what many other Australians have done. And the response from this government has been: 'Raid your super.' (Time expired)