QUESTIONS WITHOUT NOTICE

Senator WONG (South Australia—Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate) (14:55): The first point I'd make is that we know that the problems in the Australian housing market are fundamentally an issue of supply and demand and the failure of governments to invest in— Opposition senators interjecting— The PRESIDENT: Order on my left!

Senator WONG: As I was saying, the fundamental problem with the housing market in Australia has been that supply has not kept up with demand, which is why we saw the extent of price increases over so many years, which did make homes unaffordable. So this government has, firstly, focused on what we have to do to increase supply so that we can get more people into their own homes and more Australians have the opportunity to own their own homes.

Secondly, we have ensured, through our tax changes, that there is a stronger investment incentive for building new housing supply. I would make the point that I know that those opposite don't care about more supply, but investor loans for new builds show a 27.5 per cent increase and construction loans show a 20 per cent increase. What that shows is that the market is responding to the fact that there are now more tax incentives for new builds—that is, to bring more supply into the market—than simply giving investors a tax break to compete against first home buyers with already existing builds.

In relation to making sure more young people can enter the market, you will know that our five per cent deposits has ensured that many Australians have been— (Time expired) The PRESIDENT: Senator O'Sullivan, first supplementary?