Laura Jayes:
Let’s go live now to the Housing Minister, Michael Sukkar, thank you for your time. How many people have taken up this scheme and are you regarding this as a success so far?
Minister Sukkar:
Well good morning, Laura, great to be with you. At this stage there are, at last count, about 6,500 who are at some point in the process in either getting pre-approval, securing a guarantee or in some cases having already settled on a property so it’s been extremely encouraging to see the uptake from first home buyers with the first home loan deposit scheme. As you said, this scheme enables people to get into the market with a five per cent deposit because one of the things that we found certainly in recent times, has been banks requiring a 20 per cent deposit has been really one of the major challenges for people to purchase their first home. So by proving a government guarantee enabling them to get into the market with a five per cent deposit, we’re bringing that purchase forward, in some cases by many years. It’s been encouraging to see first home buyers really availing themselves of the first home loan deposit scheme and this is I suppose, Laura, a sign that – as I said in Parliament last week – of a recovery in the Australian housing market that is pleasingly, being led by first home buyers.
Laura Jayes:
We’ve seen though those applicants and those numbers this morning from this data but half the applicants are planning to go outside the capital cities, as you say. Why is that?
Minister Sukkar:
Well we designed it deliberately Laura that it wouldn’t be just a Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane centric scheme. This could be very easily, a type of scheme that gets used just in our major capital cities. But we want to assist people purchase a home wherever they’d like, whether it be a regional centre, whether it be in a rural area, that’s why we have price caps that are set differently throughout the country that reflect the local market. We think that it’s very encouraging that there’s about half in our major capital cities and the other half outside. If someone had told me that when we pressed the button on the scheme on the 1st of January, I would’ve been very pleased.
Laura Jayes:
But doesn’t this just highlight the problem that people are going outside the capital cities because this is a programme that is capped at $700,000 and there simply isn’t the stock at that price in the city?
Minister Sukkar:
Well no, there’s a lot of stock in the cities at that price although, Laura, for example if you look at Sydney with a house price cap of $700,000, you’re no doubt looking at a fairly modest first home. There’s absolutely no doubt about it. You’re looking at potentially an apartment or another detached dwelling or sometimes a semi-detached dwelling. This has been designed for that modest first home. There’s stock throughout Sydney within those price caps but of course they are at that more modest level of first home buyers.
Laura Jayes:
Part of this scheme, eleven per cent of those taking up the scheme are aged over 40 – between 40 and 59. Does it concern you that people are in there 40s and 50s and only for the first time are looking at buying their first home?
Minister Sukkar:
Well Laura, I wouldn’t say concern. I must say that it was not a statistic that again, I was expecting. We set up the first home loan deposit scheme and I think like many Australians, your mind does turn to that stereotypical young first home buyer but again, if somebody had have said to me when we put this scheme together that it would help people who perhaps a little bit later are perhaps getting into the housing market for the first time, I would’ve been very pleased. We know amongst those eleven per cent of people above 40, we have single women who are getting into the housing market for the first time. I actually think it’s a wonderful part of the story of the first home loan deposit scheme and as you and all of your viewers will know, in this day and age with housing prices where they are, perhaps it’s not as surprising as some might think with people having struggled to get into the housing market earlier.
Laura Jayes:
Just a few other things around today. You may have noticed that your state counterpart, indeed the Treasurer of New South Wales has taken a bit of a swipe in a speech this morning at you as being part of the Canberra team, saying that there’s a Canberra comatosis, that there’s a lack of visionary leadership because of a revolving door of Prime Ministers and essentially that it has led to the Henry Review gathering dust and that you’re not doing too much to boost labour productivity. What do you have to say to that?
Minister Sukkar:
Well I’d say that as far as reform goes, the Morrison government as our first act after the election, delivered the most significant personal income tax reforms that this country has seen in a generation. That is our record of serious, hard tax reform and we saw, certainly in the last quarter of last year how that feed into private consumption. So I would quite happily put up our record of tax reform against any state or territory. I think that it’s healthy to have these discussions. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with all of us encouraging each other provided that every government that is sovereign in its own right, is undertaking reforms and if you’re going to preach about reform, I suppose you have to live up to that and I think that as a government that we certainly have and no doubt the New South Wales Treasurer will live up to that as well.
Laura Jayes:
Is there no truth to what he’s saying, though?
Minister Sukkar:
Well I’ve just pointed to the record. We have reformed personal income tax in a way that I think few thought was possible – we’ve removed an entire tax bracket. This is reform that we’ve not seen for a generation. That is our record and I would happily put our record of tax reform up against any government of recent times.
Laura Jayes:
Let’s talk about climate change and emission reduction. Zero net emissions by 2050. Is this something that your government can commit to?
Minister Sukkar:
Well, what we’ve committed to, Laura, is that we’ll meet our Paris commitments of a 26 per cent reduction by 2030. That is what we’ve committed to, that is what’s on the table. I remember being a fresh faced candidate about seven or eight years ago, Laura, and if we had have taken to the 2013 election, those sorts of ambitious reduction targets I think it would’ve almost pleased everybody across the board. But naturally, people’s expectations increase over time. This s an ambitious set of reductions. We’ve committed to it. We’re going to…interrupted.
Laura Jayes:
But some of your colleagues believe that a net zero emissions target, which is an aspiration for the New South Wales government and other states right around this country. Eighty other countries right around the world think that it is achievable but some of your colleagues, like John Barilaro, think that that kind of target would see an end to agriculture. Is that right? Is that your view of things?
Minister Sukkar:
Well Laura, I think there’s a kaleidoscope of views in the Liberal Party on virtually every issue, you’ll understand that. We have a party room that determines what policy is. My view is the party’s view and that is that we should meet the commitments that we’ve signed up for. Australia as a country is a trusted partner and when we sign up to do something, we do it. It’s not just a symbolic gesture, it’s not just an aspiration, we actually deliver it…interrupted.
Laura Jayes:
Isn’t it true that part of Paris, is looking at this longer term target of 2050 so perhaps we need to go back and look at what was signed up to under previous governments and maybe there is a commitment and target in there anyway to look at 2050 and zero net emissions. That is part of the whole apparatus of Paris, isn’t it?
Minister Sukkar:
Well Laura, I mean people are entitled to have their views and have those discussions. In the end, what we do as a party is we form a policy that takes into account all of the views and what is achievable and what is desirable from an economic perspective and what is desirable from an environmental perspective and then we come out and we commit to something and we deliver it. I suppose what I’m saying to you is that my focus and I think the government’s focus is, quite rightly, to meet the commitments that we’ve set and there’s nothing wrong with further discussions as far as ambitions into the future but of course, it’s always got to be within the framework of what we’ve promised the Australian people. We’ve promised them that we will ensure that we have a secure, stable and effective electricity system and that we will meet our Paris commitments and that’s what we’ve got to do.
Laura Jayes:
Michael Sukkar, great to have you on the programme, thank you.
Minister Sukkar:
Thanks Laura.