MATTERS OF URGENCY

Senator DAVID POCOCK (Australian Capital Territory—Independent ACT Whip) (17:25): We should all be alarmed by the news that house price inflation has been picking up once again. It was 2.2 per cent over the September quarter alone. We're looking at housing price increases more than four times the rate of general inflation.

We know that house prices are escalating more than income. This is not a new thing in Australia, and it has put housing out of reach for a whole generation of young Australians and certainly for those who don't have the bank of mum and dad. Of course, this is a complex problem.

There are no silver bullets here. There are a range of levers—we have seen the Reserve Bank reduce interest rates—but Labor is throwing fuel on the fire by having a five per cent deposit scheme with no means testing, essentially bringing forward the date that a whole bunch of young Australian first home buyers can buy a property. At the same time, we are seeing an increase in interest from investors.

That's up this year. I ask the Labor government: what is housing for? Think about that.

What is housing for? Is it an investment vehicle? Are we going to continue with the $12 billion a year in tax breaks, or are we going to have this conversation and say: 'Let's put some limits on it.

Let's grandfather it. Let's limit it to one investment property.' These are very sensible reforms, because we are in a massive hole, and this is about much more than housing. This is about the very fabric of our society and our future.

While there are tens of billions of dollars on the table, we're not dealing with the nub of it—a system that is for investment, not something that is a human right.