Jane Hume (Victoria, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

When speaking to my children and their friends and to young Australians right around the country, I've noticed this growing and deeply troubling sentiment, and that's a feeling that no matter how hard they work they can't get ahead. It doesn't matter how much they save; they simply won't be able to do better than their parents. That's a broken social contract between this generation and the next.

For decades, Australia has prided itself on being a place where each generation could climb that little bit higher, where owning your own home wasn't a privilege—it was reward for hard work and aspiration. But under Labor that dream of homeownership is getting further and further out of reach. Mortgage holders are now paying $1,800 a month more than when this government was elected. Rents are up by 21 per cent, and construction prices have shot up by over 20 per cent. Under the coalition, Australia was building around 200,000 homes each and every year. Under Labor, it's dropped back to 170,000, and only barely that. This is a recipe for a housing disaster, and we're witnessing the impact of this on first home prices, with more and more Australians being locked out of the market. Young Australians are telling me it's like the ladder has been pulled up behind them. It's a concern that's been raised by many Victorians that I have heard from during my community surveys. Nothing illustrates this more than the story of Julia, a 27-year-old lawyer, who wrote to me to share her story.

Julia and her husband, an electrician, both work full time. They grew up believing that, if they got a job, worked hard, saved their money and lived sensibly and frugally, one day they would have a home of their own in which to raise their family, and that's exactly what they've tried to do. They don't want anything extravagant, just a modest three-bedroom home and maybe a second bathroom. The first home they bought was an apartment in 2021, and they did that through a government scheme. While they want that next home to build their family, they can't do it. Despite those two solid incomes, they're completely priced out. To get something even close to suitable for a young family would cost them nearly $1 million. Julia and her husband know that they will not be able to give their children the upbringing that they had, and that is entirely unfair. Her husband describes the situation as a betrayal, and I think that's entirely accurate.

Young Australians are robbed of their aspiration and opportunity. The great Australian dream is becoming further and further out of reach. But it's clearly not enough of a concern to those opposite. At the same time as this government has presided over the collapse of Australian housing construction, Australia is experiencing the largest population surge in our history. Labor is giving us more people but fewer homes, and that is unsustainable. Labor's $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund has delivered just 17—I'll repeat that: 17—houses in two years. The promise of 1.2 million new homes has already been walked back, not just by those in front of the camera but by those in the department as well. Now, that's a real concern. Instead of cutting red tape, Labor has introduced 5,000 new regulations. These have smothered builders, councils and homeowners in paperwork, bureaucracy and compliance. Under Labor, everything takes longer and costs more.

Australians deserve better. We must keep the dream of homeownership alive for the next generation of Australians. We must keep it attainable, and we must keep it accessible, particularly for young Australians. That's why I'm introducing the Unlocking Supply of Family Homes Bill 2025 into the Senate this week. This bill will make it easier for older Australians to downsize their home, freeing up much-needed family homes for younger families. It's not the only solution to the problem, but it is one solution. It's easy; it's there. It's a simple and effective way to get more family homes onto the market, and I hope it will receive support from right across the chamber. This bill can remove some of those intractable barriers and unlock supply. These are homes people like Julia and her husband desperately want and need. There is no one way to tackle the housing crisis, but, certainly, overpromising and underdelivering from a government won't do it. My message to young Australians is this: the Liberal Party is on your side. You deserve a chance to build a life, a family and a home of your own, and we will always fight for policies that will allow you to do exactly that.