CONSTITUENCY STATEMENTS

Ms FRANCE (Dickson) (10:28): Reforms to negative gearing and capital gains tax announced in the budget are already changing lives for aspiring homeowners in my electorate of Dickson. I want to share the story of Kathleen, a 65-year-old single mum from Lawnton who has spent the past year searching desperately for a home of her own. Time and time again, she found herself competing against droves of investors at open homes and watching properties sell under the hammer, only for them to reappear weeks later on the rental market.

She described attending open homes as both depressing and heartbreaking, quickly realising that only a small number of attendees were genuine owner-occupiers looking for an actual roof over their heads. Following the budget announcement, Kathleen noticed a dramatic shift: investor numbers at inspections had dropped significantly, and she was now competing alongside young families and other homebuyers like herself.

This is more than tax reform. It is about restoring hope for families, for first home buyers, for those rebuilding their lives after divorce, for people who have fallen on hard times and for long-term househunters who simply want the security and the stability of their own home. Today, I am delighted to report that Kathleen has now successfully made an offer on a home which has been accepted.

I spoke to Kathleen yesterday, and what she said was heartwarming. She said that this is more than a house, and she will finally feel safe and secure in a home where she, her daughter and her two young grandsons can build their future and thrive together. These changes are about restoring the great Australian dream of homeownership and ensuring that ordinary, hardworking Aussies once again have a fair shot at a place of their own: a home with a clothesline out the back and a verandah out the front.

These changes ensure that the housing market works first and foremost for people seeking a home, not just first home buyers but those who have gone through a relationship breakdown. We know that women over 50 years old are the fastest-growing cohort of homeless people in Australia. Our changes to negative gearing and CGT are also for them.

Labor's bold and transformative changes to make the housing market fairer for ordinary Aussies will have an immediate and lasting impact, not only for Kathleen but for three generations of her family and all those who follow. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Sharkie ): In accordance with standing order 193, the time for members' constituency statements has concluded.