Federal election 2025: First-home buyers at centre of week three as parties spruik housing policies
First-home buyers were central to the Federal election campaigns of Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton on Monday as they both started week three selling their latest headline policies.
The Prime Minister on Sunday unveiled a plan to build 100,000 new homes over five years to address supply and allow many to buy with only a 5 per cent deposit, while the Opposition Leader announced a mortgage tax deduction scheme to help first-home buyers with affordability.
In the Greens-held seat of Ryan on Monday, Mr Dutton labelled Labor’s plan to create new homes as a “fictional” and empty pledge.
“I’m not going to accept the Prime Minister’s lie to the Australian people that somehow building 100,000 fictional homes is going to fix the problem. It’s not,” he said.
“We hope that Australians can see some light past this dark period of the Albanese Government. Help is coming.”
“I want to make sure that house prices steadily increase and we’ll do that if we get the supply-demand equation right.
“I want to be a Prime Minister who can fix the housing dilemma that has been created over many budgets.
“We’re going to fix the problem and we’re going to help young Australians get back into housing.”
Despite promising to help millions of Australians, Mr Dutton ducked four questions on whether he would allow his kids to tap into the bank of mum and dad when purchasing their first property.
His 20-year-old son Harry joined him at a muddy housing construction site on the outskirts of Brisbane to share his plight to become a homeowner.
“I am saving up for a house and so is my sister. But as you probably heard, it’s almost impossible to get in — in the current state. I mean we’re saving like mad, but it doesn’t look like we’ll get there in the near future,” the apprentice carpenter said.
But, the Liberal leader, who reportedly has a whopping property portfolio totalling $30 million, declared he didn’t want parental wealth to be the deciding factor for young Australians getting into the property market.
“I don’t want to be accepting a situation where only mums and dads who can afford to give their kids help,” Mr Dutton said.
“I really, strongly, firmly believe in home ownership.
“Young Australians are putting off having kids at the moment because they can’t afford rent under Labor and they can’t afford to save for a house under Labor.
“Older Australians . . . They’re now putting off their retirement so they can stay working for longer to try to get a bit of money to help their kids with a deposit or maybe the monthly repayments.
“That’s what Mr Albanese has created — a huge mess.”
Meanwhile Mr Albanese was in Adelaide on site at the development of 100 townhouses, just seven kilometres from the CBD.
He said a second-term Albanese Government would offer a 5 per cent deposit guarantee for all first home buyers and a $10 billion pledge towards building 100,000 new homes.
The PM said he would partner with state developers and the construction industry for the builds on government-owned land which is vacant or underutilised.
It would aim to have people moving in from 2027 to 2028, with construction expected to start between 2026 and 2027.
“If you increase supply, you assist everyone because you have an impact on affordability,” Mr Albanese said.
“If you don’t have enough homes built you’re having an inflationary impact because demand … supply. The old economics 1A lesson,” he said.
The Labor leader also has a multi-million dollar portfolio, which includes a $4.3 million clifftop mansion in Copacabana on NSW’s Central Coast he settled on at the end of last year.
But when quizzed on Monday whether he wanted the median house price to drop, Mr Albanese said “prices tend to rise”.
“What we want to do is to make sure that people have accessibility for home ownership. What we want to do is to take away the disincentive, which is there where people just can’t get a deposit,” he said.
After their morning housing press conferences, both leaders travelled to non-for-profits who each supply food to vulnerable Australians.
Mr Albanese joined forces with South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas to serve up meals for delivery to Adelaide elderly and people with disabilities by local non-profit organisation Nonna’s Cucina. He promised the group $95,000 to upgrade their kitchen.
Meanwhile Mr Dutton was in the Brisbane seat of Griffith and announced a $19.5 million funding commitment at Food Back Queensland.
It comes as the cost-of-living continues to be a major issue dominating the minds’ of voters this election.
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