Rowan Holzberger (Forde, Australian Labor Party) | Link to this | Hansard source

I notice the National Youth Parliament is rolling in, and somewhere there is Jasper. I'm not sure that I can see him, but, Jasper, you are definitely an asset to the youth parliament. You're an asset to Forde. I'm really happy to see you all here today.

Here we can talk about young people. There was a time when young people could buy a house in Australia, and there was also a time when people wrote letters to the editor. Back on Monday 4 June 2007, Ian from Shailer Park, a constituent in Forde, wrote to the Courier-Mail saying:

IF Prime Minister John Howard and Treasurer Peter Costello want to take credit for the economy, they also must accept the blame for the housing affordability crisis threatening our country.

House prices do not double of their own accord in five years. They were stagnant for much of the 1990s. I don't know what levers Howard and Costello pulled to cause this doubling, but I do know that, as a result, Australia is facing one of the greatest social disasters possible—a generation of people who cannot afford their own home in the once lucky country. Many parents will see their superannuation disappear very quickly as they try to assist their children buy a home. The legacy of the Government's pursuit of an ill-considered ideology will blight this country for several generations.

Ian from Shailer Park, you are a genius. It's a shame that John Howard and Peter Costello didn't listen to you at the time, but it is a credit to the Albanese government that we have listened to first home buyers and we are doing real change to restore that Australian dream for all Australians.

Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability) | Link to this | Hansard source

You cannot solve a housing shortage by taxing housing investment, smashing market confidence and making it harder to get new homes built. Labor seem to think that, by crashing the housing market, young Australians would suddenly rush in and buy homes, but that's not what has happened. Westpac mortgage applications have crashed by 20 per cent since the budget. NAB's mortgage lending has dropped by 15 per cent, and they expect it to get worse. Real estate agents are reporting no-shows at auctions. Clearing rates have fallen by 50 per cent. A weaker market doesn't help young buyers. When builders stop pouring slabs and construction slows, supply dries up. You get fewer choices and rising rents, making it harder for everyday Australians to save for a deposit.

In an admission of total failure, even Labor's own budget forecasts show that they will build 35,000 fewer homes. This isn't economic management; it's pure sabotage. When you make it harder to build, you make it harder for the next generation to get a foot in the door. When will this government learn? You cannot tax housing and expect to get more homes built. When you tax something, you get less of it. Young Australians don't need a government that crashes confidence; they need a government that builds opportunity. Australians need a Liberal-National government.