Saul Eslake says he wants to scream.
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The prominent Tasmanian economist said the Morrison Government's plan to allow first home buyers to access their superannuation to help them into home ownership would, if implemented, drive housing prices up even further.
He said the plan would be greeted with despair by people like himself who had spent years wishing politicians would actually learn something from the past six decades of housing policy.
"I want to scream: 'This reckless inflation of house prices must stop,' " Mr Eslake said.
"But, of course, it won't.
"We now have almost 60 years of unambiguous and unequivocal evidence which tells us that anything which allows Australians to pay more for housing than they otherwise would - first home owner grants, stamp duty concessions, mortgage deposit guarantee schemes, shared equity schemes, preferential tax treatment for property investors and, indeed, lower interest rates or reductions in credit standards - results, primarily, in higher house prices, rather than in higher rates of home ownership.
"The policy, of course, also reflects the fact that the Coalition hates superannuation - because it confers greater powers and influence on unions than their declining membership would otherwise allow them to have - except as a vehicle for allowing older Australians to pay less tax."
Liberal Lyons candidate Susie Bower described the plan as a game-changer that would help more Tasmanians buy their own home.
"Under the Super Home Buyer Scheme, first home buyers will be able to invest up to 40 per cent of their superannuation, up to a maximum of $50,000, to help with the purchase of their first home," Ms Bower said.
"It will mean Tasmanians can buy their first home sooner by slashing the time taken to save a deposit by three years, on average.
"The scheme will apply to both new and existing homes, with the invested amount to be returned to their superannuation fund when the house is sold, including a share of any capital gain.
"This means that a person's super is harnessed to purchase a first home while also protecting their long-term savings plan for retirement."
Eligibility would be restricted to first home buyers who had separately saved 5 per cent of the deposit.
Clark independent MHR Andrew Wilkie said the plan could hurt the young Australians it was designed to help.
"While it will no doubt help some people into an incredibly difficult housing market, it is unlikely to do anything to tackle the underlying issues of affordability and, indeed, availability," Mr Wilkie said.
"Eminent economists have already warned such a scheme will, in fact, push up house prices."
He said many Australians had already dipped into their super during the coronavirus pandemic.
"Superannuation is meant to be a nest egg for retirement, not an everyday savings account to be repeatedly raided for other purposes," Mr Wilkie said.
"What's next?
"Accessing your super to do some landscaping?
"We can't just keep tinkering around the edges of Australia's housing crisis.
"What's needed is a national housing strategy, as precious little is still being done to help those trapped on the rental roundabout or living in tents and cars as they struggle to access social and affordable housing."
Mr Wilkie called for an increase to Commonwealth rental assistance, more crisis and supported accommodation, higher Centrelink payments and reforms to capital gains tax and negative gearing.
ACTU president Michele O'Neil said: "It is in the DNA of the Liberal National Party to attack the superannuation system, a system designed to deliver a decent retirement to working people."
"This policy has rightly been rejected by governments on a number of occasions because it would only serve to drive up house prices and rip tens of thousands of dollars out of the retirement savings of working people.
"We know that women already face retirement with half the savings that men have.
"This policy would be devastating for women, and is certainly no answer to the housing crisis."
Master Builders Tasmania welcomed the Coalition policy, saying it would help Tasmanians bridge the gap between renting and owning their homes.
Chief executive Matthew Pollock said it would give more Tasmanians the chance to overcome the "deposit gap" and become home owners sooner, while maintaining the superannuation system's integrity.
Tasmanian Greens Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said: "Safe and secure housing is a human right, but, in Australia, housing is completely cooked."
"Scott Morrison and the Liberals are now asking young people to choose between an affordable home and a secure retirement."
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