QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Mr ALBANESE (Grayndler—Prime Minister) (14:12): Today NAB has clarified publicly, 'This was not a forecast, and it's important to note that we do not forecast rental yields.' I have a couple of points to make that those opposite seem to have missed. The budget made no changes for people who already negatively gear property, none whatsoever. Arrangements that were in place up to budget night remain grandfathered in, so how could it possibly be the case that you have this absurd justification?
Going forward, of course, negative gearing and the 50 per cent capital gains tax discount can still be used for investment properties, on new builds, so that, when people are investing, they're not only investing in their future wealth and assets; they're investing in the future wealth and assets of the nation, and that is already making a difference. The SPEAKER: Order!
The Prime Minister will pause. The Leader of the Opposition on a point of order? Mr Taylor: On relevance, the question was on a very simple proposition that the National Australia Bank had put.
It asked whether the Prime Minister was prepared to guarantee that rents won't go up by 30 per cent. The SPEAKER: I think the difficulty with that point of order is that the Prime Minister directly dealt with that issue in— Mr Taylor interjecting— The SPEAKER: Let me finish, Leader of the Opposition—that quote or comment that you moved. He dealt with that straightaway.
He's got the remainder of his answer of one minute 45 seconds to remain directly relevant. He can't stray into other topics. His answer will have to remain directly relevant to the question he was asked.
Mr ALBANESE: I was asked about NAB, and I said exactly what NAB said today. I'm sure the Australian might clarify the position tomorrow. They might!
But that is very clear from NAB, and you can't be clearer. There's a reason for that, of course. It's because the budget made no changes for people who already negatively gear property.
And it's already making a difference. According to ABS data released on Friday last week, more investors are borrowing to build new homes than ever before. In the June quarter there was a 27 per cent increase in investor loans for new builds and a 20 per cent increase for construction loans—that is, more investors are borrowing for new builds and more new builds are being constructed by developers.
That is happening, and that's precisely what the aim of the policy was. The aim of the policy was to assist with housing supply, because we know that housing supply is absolutely critical. The ultimate aspiration for any Australian is to own their own home, and backing that aspiration is what our reforms are about.
Throughout all of this debate, I haven't heard one person—perhaps the Leader of the Opposition might be the one—who thinks that the housing system is working exactly right. None! It is a broken housing system that we inherited and we're fixing it to give young people a fair crack.
(Time expired).