Housing
Transcript
(Hughes) (15:42): I was present in the chamber just now when I heard the member for Fraser say a number of, frankly, quite outrageous statements. He has described our housing policies, which we have released well and truly before the next election, as 'populist politics'. I say that—and I'm going to talk about our policies—this is a very interesting statement, coming from a member of a government that has completely failed on housing policy. If nothing else, the failure on housing policy completely demonstrates that the Albanese Labor government stands for nothing and has not addressed any of the crucial elements that really affect and matter in the lives of Australians. Homeownership is one of those. If, over on that side, they were serious about really addressing housing affordability, they would have looked at our policies and agreed to them, or at least had a bipartisan approach, as the member for Fraser has just said.
I know that there are many members of this government—and I have been in this chamber when they've said it—particularly the female members, who have said how important it is that we get housing for older women, for women who are fleeing domestic violence or for women who, for example, are going through a grey divorce. These are women who have never earnt a lot of money in their lives. They get divorced, often in their 50s or 60s, and end up in a divorce settlement, often with a matrimonial home and a large mortgage and a very small superannuation pool, but their former partner walks away with significantly more superannuation. We know that because there are many members—and I'm one of them—in this place who have spoken, over and over again, about the complete gender inequity in superannuation. So I know that this is an area of real interest and real concern to those on the other side. It really is.
I also note that the Prime Minister has been very proud of the fact that he grew up in social housing with a single mother. He has now risen to be the leader of our country and, as a result, has been able to afford his own home. I commend that. That is the exact example of what he, as the Prime Minister, should be aspiring to for all Australians. That is certainly what we on this side of the House aspire to—superannuation being released to assist with first home buyers. We've made it very clear that it will be capped at $50,000 and that, if the house is sold, it is then repaid into superannuation. We are committed to superannuation; since it was introduced by a Labor government back in the late eighties or early nineties, we on this side of the House have always been committed to compulsory superannuation. However, at the end of the day, that superannuation is still our money; it's not the government's money.
Women who are fleeing domestic violence and women who have ended up in divorces where they have significantly smaller assets than their husbands—we all know those women; those women are our friends, those women live in our electorates and those women have been talking to me when I've been out doorknocking—will be able to access some superannuation. They will be able to access up to $300,000, if they have it. Remember that most Australian women don't have $300,000 in their superannuation accounts, but they will be able to access that money to purchase a home, even if it is not the first home that they've ever purchased in their lives. In that way, we are demonstrating that we are absolutely committed in relation to the inequity that is there for women, particularly older women, with those lower superannuation bases. And I'll just say this, very quickly, on that issue: with superannuation today, self-managed funds can invest in commercial property and they can invest in retail property. Why can't we use our own money to invest in a house to live in?