Michael Sukkar MP

LABOR ATTACKS SINGLE PARENTS HOUSING SCHEME

THE HON MICHAEL SUKKAR MP
Assistant Treasurer
Minister for Housing
Minister for Homelessness, Social and Community Housing

MEDIA RELEASE

Tuesday 15 February 2022

LABOR ATTACKS SINGLE PARENTS HOUSING SCHEME

 The Labor Opposition has attacked the Morrison Government’s Family Home Guarantee, Australia’s first ever specifically targeted single parent family housing scheme, that has helped more than 2,200 single parents on the pathway to home ownership in just eight months.

This is despite the Labor Party having no policies at all that will help single parent families into a home of their own, or any policies whatsoever that are targeted at helping Australians get into the housing market.

Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar said the attacks by Labor showed that they were out of touch and out of ideas when it came to getting Australians into home ownership.

“The pathetic remarks made today by Labor’s housing spokesperson are an attack on single parents who have accessed the Government’s successful Family Home Guarantee, the first ever housing package designed specifically to help single parents into the housing market,” Minister Sukkar said.

“The Morrison Government is assisting more than 2,200 single parents, 85 percent of which are single mothers, into their own home. At the same time, the Labor Party is more interested in attacking these measures and undermining confidence in a scheme that is making a real difference to women’s lives.

“With their attacks on the Family Home Guarantee, are Labor saying they will cancel the Family Home Guarantee and deny single parents, the majority who are single mothers, the opportunity to get into a home?

“For all their empty talk about being on your side, the facts are that Labor have zero policies to help first homebuyers or single parents get into the housing market. Not one policy. Instead of spending their time attacking the Government over its successful housing schemes, Labor needs to go back to the policy drawing board and sort themselves out.

“Anthony Albanese needs to come clean with the Australian people – does he agree with attacking policies that are supporting single mothers into home ownership, or does he back the Morrison Government’s successful Home Guarantee Schemes, including the Family Home Guarantee?”

Nicole is a single mother living in Canberra who has accessed the Family Home Guarantee. Nicole said that without the scheme, she would not have been able to save a deposit for a house.

“With the amount of rent we were paying we were never going to be able to save enough for a deposit the Family Home Guarantee has given us the ability to buy without having to try and come up with a huge deposit,” Nicole said.

“Renting has a level of fear in that each year we were scared that our lease would not be renewed or that the owner might sell from under us. We finally have a place that is ours!

“It has given me, a single parent, the ability to be able to purchase a place that is our home.”

In this term of Government, the Morrison Government has supported more than 300,000 Australians into home ownership.

Since 1 January 2020, the Home Guarantee Schemes (consisting of the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, the New Home Guarantee and the Family Home Guarantee) have assisted almost 60,000 first home buyers and single parent families get into a home of their own with a deposit as little as 5 percent or 2 percent respectively.

Australians deserve a government that has real, tangible and proven policies designed to help them on the path to buying a home of their own.

Only the Morrison Government can be trusted to ensure that more Australians have the help and support they need to achieve the dream of home ownership.