QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE
Dr CHALMERS (Rankin—Treasurer) (14:21): I thank the honourable member not just for the question but for making it really clear that One Nation doesn't support a fair go for first home buyers in the housing market. We suspected that, and now we know for sure that, every time One Nation is asked to side with people who battle in this country, they typically side against them.
It's a very welcome reminder from One Nation that there is effectively no difference between One Nation, the Liberals and the Nationals when it comes to preserving a status quo that has locked too many Australians—particularly, young Australians—out of housing for too long. I appreciate the honourable member's question in that regard. We already know that One Nation doesn't support the current arrangements for super.
We already know they don't support wage increases for workers. Their leader has made that clear. And now we know they don't support first home buyers either.
When it comes to the— The SPEAKER: The member for Farrer on a point of order. Mr Farley: I've asked a question of the Treasurer's intentions and his understanding of his own policies. The SPEAKER: The Leader of the House.
Mr Burke: To the point of order, it is hard to imagine a broader question than to ask the Treasurer about the impact of budget policies. It opens it up completely if you look at the way that question was phrased, particularly at the end. The SPEAKER: I remind the member for Farrer, a new member, that, when rising to your feet to take a point of order, you need to say that it is on the issue of relevance.
I know that's what he was doing, but, if people don't do that, I won't be able to take points of order. I thank him for raising the point of order. The question was asking about understanding budget policy.
That's a very broad question at the end, and there were some assumptions in there as well. If you ask a broad question, you're going to get a very broad answer. Dr CHALMERS: The point that I'm making in relation to housing policy, which is what the honourable member asked me about, is that any combination or coalition of One Nation, the Liberals or the Nationals after the next election would mean a housing market that is less fair for first home buyers and for young people.
It would mean a tax on superannuation, and it would mean a tax on wages as well. That's because—whether it's One Nation, the Liberals or the Nationals—they don't support first home buyers. They don't support superannuation, because they don't support working people.
They only pretend to. When it comes to the assumptions in the budget, the assumptions from the Treasury in the budget are over the next couple of years, not over the first couple of months. That's the first point.
The second point is: be very careful about the way that numbers about rents have been used, particularly in recent days. Thirdly, when it comes to house prices—and that was part of the honourable member's question—in the last decade we've seen, I think, at least seven occasions when house prices have come off a bit. I don't remember those opposite making a big deal out of the other six.
They should know that, when it comes to the housing market, auction clearance rates and rents, there are a whole number of issues playing out. We know that because we saw some softening in the market before the budget as well. So I genuinely welcome and am extremely grateful for the honourable member's question so that I can point out those facts to him.