THOMAS ORITI:
As we were discussing with our political reporter a short time ago, one of the federal government’s key housing policies promised at the last election is back up for debate in Canberra this week after stalling in the Senate last month. It’s the Help to Buy legislation, aiming to see the government co‑purchase homes with about 40,000 first home buyers. The Greens and the Coalition voted to delay the consideration of the legislation when the Senate sat last year. The government to re‑introduce the bill today after threatening a double dissolution if it were to fail.
The Housing Minister Clare O’Neil joins us now from Canberra. Minister, good morning.
CLARE O’NEIL:
Good morning. Great to be with you.
ORITI:
Thanks for joining us. You’re re‑introducing the bill, I understand, in the same form as when it stalled in the Senate. Why would you expect a different result this time around?
O’NEIL:
Well, this is a really important bill that is going to help 40,000 aged care workers, childcare workers, cleaners and paramedics get into home ownership in circumstances where they’d otherwise have no chance of doing so. So it’s a really important law, and we’ve got to remember as a Parliament there is genuine despair and frustration out there at the experience of low and middle‑income people who are stuck in a rent trap. Here’s something real that we can do to help them.
ORITI:
Yeah.
O’NEIL:
The reason we’re re‑introducing it is because the Parliament is running out of time to make a difference for these 40,000 people, and we need to give the Greens and the Liberals another opportunity to come in, do their jobs and help us make progress in the middle of a housing crisis, which is exactly what our citizens want us to do.
ORITI:
But do you think that they will? I mean, the Coalition is saying, ‘Well, you shouldn’t get caught up in owning a slice of a person’s home.’ The Greens say it only fuels demand for homes. Probably unlikely they’re both going to say, ‘Oh, yeah. Sorry, you were right the first time around.’ So back to that question: why would you just re‑introduce it and expect a different result? They seem to be standing very firm.
O’NEIL:
Yeah, well, I don’t agree with that. And really because it’s very obvious from what’s happened here that it’s politics at the heart of them trying to block us from moving ahead with this. And I think that’s shameful and reprehensible. We’ve got a housing crisis in this country. People are really suffering. And we can do something to help them and we should do it.
Now, the Liberals, I’ve basically given up hope a little bit in them. They have not had a credible housing policy for an entire generation, and they are in no small part to blame for the housing woes Australians are experiencing. With the Greens, the proposal that we’ve got before the Parliament is part of Greens Party policy. They’re voting against their own policy when they’ve come into the Senate, and I’ve –
ORITI:
They’ve taken –
O’NEIL:
And I think we need to hold them accountable for that.
ORITI:
Sorry to interrupt, Minister, but they’ve taken exception to the numbers, though. So they argue in order for a person to be eligible, they have to have a yearly income of $90,000 or less or $120,000 for couples. Do they have a point in saying that? They actually lock out many of those key workers like teachers or nurses? They’re concerned about the nuts and bolts of this.
O’NEIL:
Well, that’s not quite right. That’s not quite right at all.
ORITI:
Can you explain to us why?
O’NEIL:
Yeah, let me make a few points about that. So let me just first say that the Greens have produced some analysis claiming that, you know, nurses and paramedics are paid far more than many nurses and paramedics are paid. The median income for an Australian working today is $67,000 a year, and it is embarrassing for me for the Greens – to see the Greens coming out and saying that there are people who are going to be, you know, nurses and teachers who are earning, you know, radically more than many of them are earning. There are plenty of early career nurses and teachers who are waking up this morning who would be thrilled to be paid the Greens are saying they would be paid.
But let me just address this point about the size of the scheme. You know, this is 40,000 people. It is not a small amount of people that we will be assisting into home ownership with their families. But can I just make the point that this is just a part of the government’s agenda. We’ve already helped 120,000 people into home ownership through our Home Guarantee Scheme. We’re already helping more than a million Australian renters through Commonwealth Rent Assistance. And we’re building tens of thousands of social and affordable homes.
And what I just say to your listeners – and I think people will understand this – is we’ve got a housing crisis. It’s complicated and it’s long term, and there isn’t a silver bullet to it. What it requires is a government to do lots of things all at once, and that’s what – exactly what our government is doing. If only the Greens and the Liberals would let – get out of our way and let us make progress on this matter.
ORITI:
Just on that question of salaries, though – and you’re right, a lot of people I think would say, ‘Hang on, I don’t earn anywhere near that.’ But let’s – childcare worker, right? Average full‑time earnings of about $67,430.
O’NEIL:
Yeah.
ORITI:
Even if an essential worker might be eligible, how would they be able to avoid going into severe mortgage stress, particularly if they’re buying in a place like Sydney, Brisbane or Melbourne?
O’NEIL:
The way this scheme is set up is it’s really designed for these low income Australians who don’t have access to the bank of mum and dad, like many people on really high incomes do. These are people who are from ordinary families who are currently locked out of buying, and most of them are stuck in a rent trap where they’re just unable to save for a deposit.
The way this scheme works is that the government comes in and assists you in saving for your deposit and then assists you in paying off a share of your mortgage. This is exactly what we need to be doing for those ordinary low and middle‑income Australians who are locked out at the moment. And I think the other parties understand that because that’s why it’s Greens Party policy.
ORITI:
But the Greens have released analysis saying, ‘Hang on, even if you did have a stake in the home, some would require between 56 and 95 per cent of their earnings to pay off a mortgage in a city like Sydney.’ They’d still end up in mortgage stress.
O’NEIL:
Look, I’m not pretending that this is going to fix the problem or alleviate pain for everyone. What I’m saying is that 40,000 people who would not otherwise have access to home ownership can get it if the Greens and the Liberals come into the Parliament today and work with the government on this important bill. And I’d say again: anyone who is peddling that there is a silver bullet, a single solution to the houses crisis is telling pork pies.
What we’ve got to do here is understand this is complicated, do all the things that are involved in Labor’s $32 billion Homes for Australia plan, and we’re going to start to see real change for real people. This is not an abstract political argument – 40,000 people and their families will have their lives transformed by this. This is exactly what we’re elected to Parliament to do, and I just need those parties to come in and work with the government to find solutions here.
ORITI:
So, Minister, let’s say they don’t. How real a prospect is a double dissolution. There’s a lot of talk about that at the moment.
O’NEIL:
Look, there is, and it’s true that this bill would represent a double dissolution trigger if the Parliament does decide to not work with us to make a difference to the lives of these people. That’s not the government’s focus right now, though. And just to say something you may not hear every day – I’m actually concerned about the people at the end of this. Like, just set aside all the double dissolution, the political parties and all the rest of it; there’s 40,000 people who we can help today, and we should go into the Parliament and do it. The double dissolution stuff is secondary. Our main focus right now is getting this bill through the Parliament, and I’m really hopeful we’re going to be able to do that.
ORITI:
But you flagged a double dissolution is a very real possibility. I mean, if you were to trigger one, why over this bill which some are arguing, with all due respect, would only make a marginal difference to the housing crisis?
O’NEIL:
Well, that’s not what experts believe. As I say, again, we’ve got 40,000 people here – that’s not a small number of people – whose lives will be changed by getting access to home ownership. If people are out there arguing that nothing is better than something, then I don’t agree with them. I’d say again, this is not all the government is doing about housing. We’ve got a $32 billion package here. We’ve got a massive effort going into building housing supply. We’ve got lots of support going to people who are renting, and we are doing everything we can to try to get more Australians into home ownership – building, renting, buying. That’s our plan. This is part of that plan, but it’s an important part because we should help these people and we can.
ORITI:
Minister, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate your time.
O’NEIL:
Thanks so much.
ORITI:
That is the Housing Minister Clare O’Neil joining us there from Canberra.