As the 2022 Federal Election campaign entered its final week Scott Morrison issued a final challenge to his Labor counterpart Anthony Albanese in the form of a potentially game-changing housing policy.
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Morrison revealed at the Liberal Party campaign launch on Sunday a plan to allow first home buyers to access 40 per cent of their superannuation, up to $50,000, to put towards a deposit.
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It's one solution offered by the incumbent government to a problem that has seen house prices rise by more than 25 per cent during the COVID-19 pandemic and in some places such as Newcastle and Launceston, by more than 40 per cent.
But isn't super for your retirement? Well yes, but part of Morrson's pitch to voters was that the single biggest cause of elderly poverty was not owning a home.
That logic has been loudly rebutted however by Labor who point out that not only will people with draining their super but also causing yet another rise in house prices.
So, what do the people think? The Southern Tablelands and Highlands have both seen people flock from the cities.
Jon told the Queanbeyan Age he thought there was a certain logic in the government's idea but that it would eventually push prices up further and that the only hope for real change lay in tax reform.
"It's not a bad idea as young people will be sooner investing in their own asset rather than paying off someone else's investment," he said.
"The problem is it's only going to inflate the property market more, and that won't be addressed until there is negative gearing reform. Nobody in politics is willing to reform negative gearing because they all rely on it to offset their own taxes.
"My suggestion is limiting negative gearing to properties that are up to five years old. Once the property is five years old they'll have to redirect that equity into building a new house or purchasing a recently built house.
"People earning over 200k will still be offsetting their tax and the supply of houses will increase, lowering the overall prices in the property market."
Krista from Goulburn owns a home with her husband and, having bought 11 years ago, has what she described as a "very manageable mortgage"
She said the idea of using super for a deposit was short-sighted, but admitted that she wouldn't be able to purchase a house in 2022.
"It's short-sighted I think," she told the Age.
"If people want to do it they can, but who knows what is going to happen with super and government support when we retire. I dread to think."
"I'd dread if we had to buy now, we wouldn't be able to do it. I can't imagine what it's like for people under our income level, it must be horrible for them."
When asked what they thought about the scheme, dozens more people wrote back to the Post via Facebook with a wide range of opinions ranging from the idea being better than Labor's, to fearing it will cause another property spike, to wondering how many young people actually have $50,000 in super lying around.
But I think we can all take inspiration from Stuart Baker who suggested people "buy a caravan, park it pretty much where ever you like, travel Australia, your home will follow."
