QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:56): The first point I'd make is on the assertion of negative equity. I would just point out that the Commonwealth Bank reported in their full year results that negative equity in their portfolio had dropped from 0.8 per cent to 0.5 per cent, and that around the country, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia, fewer than one per cent of mortgage holders are in negative equity.

The point I would make is that—as I have been advised—in 2019, under your government, just over two per cent of borrowers were in negative equity. So, despite the campaign from you, in fact it is now less than half of that. I think this really demonstrates the way in which the coalition is dealing with these issues of housing policy.

They are desperate to engage in talking down the market and talking down the economy and have not engaged with the fundamental point, which is that either you are on the side of young Australians who are trying to enter the housing market—either you believe that the great Australian dream should not just be for those who already have houses but should be extended—or you believe that we should continue to have an uneven, unequal playing field as it is between investors buying many homes and a young family buying their first home.

We are very clear that homeownership is part of what this government wants to deliver. We are very clear that this is central to how Australians see and experience their security. We believe more young Australians should be entitled to get into the housing market, and we are backing them.

We are backing them through the five per cent deposit scheme. We are backing them by ensuring investment goes into more houses, and we are backing them by a fairer tax system. The PRESIDENT: Senator Canavan, your first supplementary?