Doug Cameron (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Human Services) Share this | Hansard source

What a pathetic, predictable performance from Senator Paterson. In terms of dealing with the economic issues, to say that we are not dealing with an economic issue when we are dealing with housing affordability just beggars belief. One of the biggest economic issues faced by any young family in this country, by any family trying to get ahead, is that of trying to afford to buy a house. If they are lucky enough, they scrape together a deposit for a house. Most young couples, now, have to rely on rental accommodation, with the rents going through the roof.

Not everyone can do what the Prime Minister did. He told Jon Faine the other day that he should 'shell out' for his kids because he is a 'wealthy man'. Not everybody can shell out to provide economic support for their kids. Too many Australians are battling to survive on their own, now. They just survive to put food on the table. If Malcolm Turnbull, the Prime Minister, is so out of touch that he thinks people can easily shell out to get their kids a home, so be it. Faine said, 'That's what my kids say: that I should shell out for them.' The Prime Minister said, 'There you go. You have the solution in your own hands. You can provide a bit of intergenerational equity in your own family.'

I think The Prime Minister has been providing some intergenerational equity in his own family. According to an article in Domain, the Fairfax real estate pages, on 6 July 2013, the PM's daughter, Daisy Turnbull Brown—then 28—had listed her Potts Point apartment, for sale, for offers over $3 million. It went on to say that Ms Turnbull Brown is a history teacher!