Pages tagged "hecs"
Housing Affordability and the Cost of Living
Australians are facing a prolonged cost-of-living crisis, with wages failing to keep up with the increasing cost of groceries, power bills and healthcare. The cost of housing, for renters and mortgage-holders, is one of the most acute financial pressures facing households.
Housing Affordability
Australians are dealing with a housing crisis three decades in the making. Housing prices and mortgage payments are at record highs relative to income. Combined with other cost-of-living pressures and a housing supply shortage, home ownership is decreasing and we have a critical shortage of rentals. The challenge is particularly acute for young people, low-income earners, and older single women who are facing housing stress and, increasingly, homelessness.
I support a range of approaches to increase the supply of quality, affordable homes and to ease the way for the next generation to buy their own home, including:
- Sensitive, evidence-based tax reform to improve housing affordability.
- Long-term commitment to programs such as the Housing Australia Future Fund, the Help to Buy and the Build to Rent schemes.
- Removal of a home purchaser’s HECS debt from the banks’ assessment of their capacity to borrow.
- Commonwealth funding of public and social housing, to reduce homelessness and ease pressure on the private rental market.
- Evidence-based policies to address property speculation, empty residential properties and land banking.
Housing in Kooyong
Kooyong’s increased housing needs must be achieved with community consultation and sensitive, quality developments which maintain neighbourhood character.
Housing in Kooyong must be affordable for essential workers to live close to where they work. That’s why I’ve advocated for affordable housing in the development of the VicRoads site in Kew, with preservation of green spaces and active transport pathways.
Since I was first elected in 2022, I have:
- Worked with local and state governments, residents, and community groups, to advocate for a balanced approach to housing densification in our suburbs.
- Hosted community forums in Kew and Malvern with council representatives, local groups, as well as planning and housing experts.
- Met with the State Minister for Planning and the Federal Minister for Housing.
- Amplify Kooyong’s cost of housing concerns in Federal Parliament.
Cost of living
Cost of living pressures can only be relieved with ongoing reforms and careful economic management that contains price rises and supports households to thrive.
Tertiary education students have felt cost of living pressures more acutely than most, with inflation and indexation making HECS debts rise faster than they could be paid off. I successfully campaigned for changes in HECS/HELP indexation and to get action from the government to reduce debt levels – saving 3 million Australians a total of $3 billion. I will keep campaigning for current and future tertiary students to:
- Make tertiary education courses more affordable.
- Achieve financial support for all prac placements for students in healthcare sector courses.
- Secure fairer accounting of HECS payments.
- Ensure that HECS debts don’t stop first home buyers from getting loans.
In 2023, I successfully advocated for fairer Stage 3 tax cuts so that they helped those most in need of financial support but were less likely to increase inflation. I will keep advocating for a fairer tax system.
In response to consultation with our community, I have sought to address rising the cost-of-living squeeze felt by people in Kooyong by:
- Advocating for lower energy bills by helping homeowners and businesses electrify and maximise financial benefits from the renewable energy transition.
- Voting to make childcare cheaper, and for better workplace protections for women.
- Consistently acting to protect consumers against scams, unreasonable pricing practices and abuse of market power in industries that affect everyday Australians.
My parliamentary speeches on housing affordability and the cost of living:
Early childhood education and care