Michael Sukkar MP

Mr SUKKAR (Deakin—Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Housing) (14:41): Can I thank the member for Bass for her question. She’s a great champion for a better housing market not just in her electorate, not just in Tasmania, but throughout the country. I know the member for Bass knows that to provide certainty and stability to the housing market you need a government like the Morrison government, which supports people into housing and doesn’t tax them out of it, as those opposite would propose.

Indeed, I was very pleased to visit the member for Bass in Launceston a bit over a week ago, where we were able to jointly announce with the state Minister for Housing that the federal government would forgive Tasmania’s historic housing debt, which will mean $230 million of extra funding into social and affordable housing in Tasmania. I want to give particular credit to the members for Bass and Braddon, and I want to acknowledge the member for Denison, who’s in the chamber as well, and others who really contributed to this effort.

I also want to say that the Morrison government, as we outlined prior to the election, is dedicated to assisting all Australians who aspire to buy a home to do so. That’s why I was extraordinarily proud to deliver on part of the agenda that our Prime Minister outlined prior to the election, with the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme. The First Home Loan Deposit Scheme will support first home buyers to purchase their first home with a deposit as little as five per cent. As members in this House know, one of the hardest parts of buying your first home is getting a deposit together. We know from data that in big cities like Melbourne and Sydney the time it takes to save for a deposit is eight years in the case of Melbourne and 10 years in the case of Sydney. So the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme is going to assist those first home buyers get into the market sooner. Ten thousand Australians each year, from 1 January next year, will be supported by the Morrison government in getting into their first home.

This complements work that we have already put into place through the First Home Super Saver Scheme, which members opposite opposed at the last election. We’ve had some 4,000 first home buyers utilise the First Home Super Saver Scheme to buy their first home, so we want to see the Labor Party change their form and support the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.

In addition, we have set up the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation, which is funnelling hundreds of millions of dollars into community housing providers to support more community and social housing throughout our country. In its first year, it delivered 560 new homes. The Morrison government wants to support everyone along the housing spectrum and will continue to do so.

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