Doorstop, Press Gallery

18 September 2024

JOURNALIST: We're still talking about this Help to Buy legislation in the Senate. Has the Opposition changed, are you going to support it?

JANE HUME: The Coalition has been clear from the beginning of this Parliament that we don't support Labor's Help to Buy legislation because we don't like the idea of the government owning part of your home. And in fact, most Australians don't like the idea of the government owning part of your home. We know that because this policy replicates programs that already exist in almost every state and territory, and those programs are under subscribed. People don't want the government owning half of their home, or 40% of their home, or even 20% of their home. They want to own their own home outright. In fact, in my home state of Victoria, they're shutting that program down because it is so unpopular. That's why we're not supporting this program. But more importantly, it's costing taxpayers $5.5 billion and it's not going to make a whit of difference to the number of Australians that own their own home. There are already two successful policies out there that are helping New Home Buyers. One of them is the first Home Super Saver scheme, and that allows people to use superannuation to save for their superannuation when they make additional contributions. That was a Coalition policy, and it's been very well taken up. And the other one is the First Home Guarantee, and that policy allows people to get into their first homes with as little as five or even two per cent. About one in three new home buyers right now, first home buyers are already using those programs. These are the demand side programs, and they were coalition programs that Labor have adopted. They work perfectly well. In fact, Anthony Albanese was just yesterday out spruiking one of those programs at a press conference. This program, this Help to Buy program is entirely unnecessary and it doesn't deal with the real issue, which is supply. The fact is, supply is largely the purview of the states, and there are wall to wall Labor governments across the mainland of Australia, except for the Northern Territory. Now, if Anthony Albanese had the authority with his premiers, he would encourage them to open up new suppliers. That's really the only way we're going to be able to solve the housing crisis in Australia.

JOURNALIST: There's a bunch of legislation for the Senate this week. It's a Senate only sitting week. Got the EPA two housing bills, Future Made in Australia. Anthony Albanese, the Prime Minister, has challenged the Senate as a whole to stop blocking things and to get things done. What's your response?

JANE HUME: This Government is so chaotic they can't even manage to bring a bill on to be defeated. But the Senate is where bills get debated, where there is scrutiny of legislation. What Anthony Albanese was trying to do was to truncate debate in the Senate. That's not what we're here to do. The fact that he's brought these bills on without having a deal, without being able to secure their passage, I think demonstrates profound income inquiries.