QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator O'SULLIVAN (Western Australia—Deputy Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate) (14:56): My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Senator Wong. Morgan Stanley's chief economist has forecast property prices to decline by up to 10 per cent due to tax changes and rate hikes. On Wednesday morning, the Minister for Housing, Clare O'Neil, said Australia's falling house prices are due to a 'correction' in the housing market.

That's confronting news for the two-thirds of Australian households who own their own home or are paying a mortgage, many of whom will now have negative equity. Was it a deliberate effect of your housing policy to reduce the value of a family home?