Question Time

Affordable Housing, First-Home Buyers

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (14:06): My question is to the Premier. Is the dream of owning a first home over for South Australians? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Members interjecting:

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: While ministers are laughing, Adelaide has fallen to the sixth least affordable city in the world. It takes on average almost 12 years to save for a house deposit. We are only second to Sydney in terms of housing unaffordability in this country. For South Australian renters our rental market is the least affordable in all of Australia.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:07): I thank the Leader of the Opposition for his question. The Leader of the Opposition would also be aware of other data, data which comes from independent sources, whether it be the Master Builders Association, showing that construction activity happening in the housing sector in South Australia is up to 16 per cent year on year, or whether it be data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics that shows commencements and completions of housing in the state of South Australia is outperforming the rest of the country. Then, of course, there is the Housing Industry Association, which has made clear that South Australia is the number one jurisdiction in the country in addressing supply, but more than that it is the number one jurisdiction in the country when it comes to actually delivering additional supply.

We have a housing supply problem in South Australia. What we don't have is a housing demand problem. There is no shortage of demand in South Australia for new housing stock because we have an economy that, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, is also outperforming the rest of the nation. We saw state final demand figures released recently and we are eclipsing almost every other jurisdiction in the country in terms of state final demand performance. We have a growing economy, more people want to live here, more people want to stay here—justifiably so.

So what we want to do on this side of the house is make sure that we have a policy that isn't just easy to explain, but that we have a policy that actually delivers more homes. The only policy solution that is a serious one to the housing supply crisis is to address housing supply. That is in stark contrast with a recent addition to the housing policy debate here in South Australia where recently the Leader of the Opposition announced his policy. His policy is about stimulating demand; he is going to stimulate demand. It is a vendor's dream. If you are in South Australia and you own your own home, and you want to sell it on the market—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left will come to order.

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Members on my left will come to order, including you, member for Morialta.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —then presumably you would be delighted about the Leader of the Opposition's policy. But if you are a young South Australian who has the aspiration of owning your own home, you would be very concerned about the opposition's policy that's going to help out sellers rather than help out increasing housing supply.

The Leader of the Opposition's policy doesn't deliver one single extra home—not one—which stands in stark contrast to what we are doing on water, what we are doing on land release, what we are doing on rental reform, what we are doing with HomeStart, what we are doing on land supply and what we are doing on tax reform that might actually incentivise the building of new homes rather than everyone staying in existing ones. We understand what makes a difference on the ground to housing supply, which is exactly why independent organisations, one after the other, are lining up all around the country to say, 'If someone wants to make a difference on housing supply copy what South Australia is doing.'

What are the independent organisations saying about the Leader of the Opposition's policy? Well, look at what the Productivity Commission has said. The Productivity Commission independently says, 'If you want to make the problem worse, come up with the sorts of policies that the state Liberal Party now have, which is going to stimulate demand rather than supply.' So don't believe us, don't believe them—believe what the independent organisations are saying about the choices with respect to housing policy in Australia and who will actually make a difference.