STATEMENTS BY MEMBERS

Mr HOLZBERGER (Forde) (13:49): I notice the National Youth Parliament is rolling in, and somewhere there is Jasper. I'm not sure that I can see him, but, Jasper, you are definitely an asset to the youth parliament. You're an asset to Forde.

I'm really happy to see you all here today. Here we can talk about young people. There was a time when young people could buy a house in Australia, and there was also a time when people wrote letters to the editor.

Back on Monday 4 June 2007, Ian from Shailer Park, a constituent in Forde, wrote to the Courier-Mail saying: IF Prime Minister John Howard and Treasurer Peter Costello want to take credit for the economy, they also must accept the blame for the housing affordability crisis threatening our country. House prices do not double of their own accord in five years. They were stagnant for much of the 1990s.

I don't know what levers Howard and Costello pulled to cause this doubling, but I do know that, as a result, Australia is facing one of the greatest social disasters possible—a generation of people who cannot afford their own home in the once lucky country. Many parents will see their superannuation disappear very quickly as they try to assist their children buy a home.

The legacy of the Government's pursuit of an ill-considered ideology will blight this country for several generations. Ian from Shailer Park, you are a genius. It's a shame that John Howard and Peter Costello didn't listen to you at the time, but it is a credit to the Albanese government that we have listened to first home buyers and we are doing real change to restore that Australian dream for all Australians.