QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Ms O'NEIL (Hotham—Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Cities) (14:38): I thank the member for Blair for his question. Not only is he a superb representative of his local community, but, in part because of his advocacy, we have now supported 5,000 of his constituents into homeownership through the five per cent deposit program. Now, there is no greater aspiration in the life of most Australian families than getting into a home of their own, and there is no shortage of aspiration coming from young Australians.
The problem is opportunity. Young Australians want to buy a home; they want security; they want stability; they want a home to build their future. What they need and deserve is a fair chance and a government that will back them in, and that's what they're getting from us.
This is exactly what our Homes for Australia plan provides. Under the five per cent deposit scheme, more than 250,000 Australians have bought a home of their own. Together, those Australians have avoided more than $2.3 billion in lenders mortgage insurance.
About 60 per cent of the people who enter this scheme actually come in with a deposit that's larger than five per cent. Nearly 70 per cent are ahead on their mortgage repayments, and one in four of these scheme participants have built up so much equity in their home they've transitioned off the scheme altogether. The Commonwealth Bank recently confirmed that participants in the scheme are outperforming their broader mortgage books when it comes to repayments.
How good is that? What it shows us is that, when you give young people around this country an opportunity, they grab it with both hands. That's because young people were never the problem here.
They needed a chance. They needed the government to back them in, and that's exactly what we're doing. Our five per cent deposit program is helping Australians get to auction sooner, and the changes in our budget will make sure they have a fair shot when they get there.
I'm asked about alternative approaches. The three right-wing parties, One Nation and their poor tribute acts, do have very different views about how to manage housing. Instead of trying to help, those opposite spend their time talking down the 250,000 Australians who have used this scheme.
We've heard the Liberals call it a gimmick, we've heard the Nationals call it a scam and we've heard One Nation call it socialism. I don't know how you call 250,000 Australians in homeownership socialism, but there you have it. You can't back first home buyers and then critique and belittle the choices that they make.
We are incredibly proud to have helped more than a quarter of a million people around our country realise the dream of homeownership, and there'll be more where that came from. Ms Plibersek interjecting— The SPEAKER: Minister for Social Services, I'm not— Mrs McIntosh interjecting— The SPEAKER: It's okay, Member for Lindsay. I heard it.
That's why I cautioned her, okay?