QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator CANAVAN (Queensland—Leader of the Nationals) (14:58): I note the data you quoted there, Minister, only went to the end of June—just weeks after your budget—but more recent data from Cotality says that half of homes bought in Sydney and Melbourne are past 12 months are now worth less than their purchase price and, nationally, one in three recent buyers would sell for less than they pay paid.

These are not numbers on a spreadsheet; these are young Australians who are now facing going backwards on their biggest asset. How many of them are now—not back in June but now—trapped in negative equity?