Treasurer backtracks on ‘get a good job’ advice to first home buyers, says attacks on him are personal

HE’S called economic experts “clowns” and judged the driving habits of “poor people”, but Joe Hockey says reaction to his “get a better job” advice has gone too far.

Job ID:PD470316 Question Time in the House of Representatives in Parliament House in Canberra. Tuesday 26th May 2015. The Treasurer Joe Hockey and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party Julie Bishop, during Question Time in the House of Representatives in Parliament House Canberra. Pic by Gary Ramage

TREASURER Joe Hockey today backtracked on his claim Sydney real estate was affordable as critics pointed to the average house price nearing $1 million.

But the Treasurer accused critics of targeting him personally, and not the policy problem following his “get a job” advice to first home buyers yesterday which caused a social media storm.

“Let’s not play the man, let’s actually deal with the policy,” he told the ABC’s AM program.

“Housing is very expensive and I understand that. Look, I totally understand that. When you’re committing so much of your wage to your mortgage, it’s a big ask, with all the other pressures in life.

“Yes, it is difficult for first home buyers to get into the market, there’s no doubt about that.”

Yesterday Mr Hockey told reporters Sydney real estate was affordable because people kept buying it.

And his advice to first home buyers was: “The starting point for a first homebuyer us to get a good job that pays good money.

“If you’ve got a good job that pays good money and you have security in relation to that job then you can go to the bank and you can borrow money.

“That’s readily affordable, more affordable than ever. (It’s more affordable to) borrow money for a first home now than it’s ever been.”

He also said the best counter to rising prices were efforts by state and local governments to increase the supply of housing to ease the pressure of demand.

Labor front bencher Jason Clare said Mr Hockey’s comment might have been part of a longer interview but was one of many statements the Treasurer had made which were seen as gaffes.

The Treasurer has been accused of clumsy comments on a number of occasions:

• June 2015: “These (GDP) numbers have proven that there are some clowns out there that are talking about recession and dark clouds on the horizon.” This drew attention to the fact senior Government figures had recently warned Australian economy was in danger of becoming as bad as bankrupt Greece.

• October 2014: “The poorest people either don’t have cars or actually don’t drive very far in many cases.” This comment put the government into deeper trouble over fuel excise rises.

• July 2014: “I’m still going through that process, but I won’t write anyone off forever.” On trusting Malcolm Turnbull, said after wife Melissa Babbage told his biographer they could never trust the Communications Minister again.

• May 2014: “If I can be a little indulgent please, I drive to Canberra to go to Parliament, I drive myself and I must say I find those wind turbines around Lake George to be utterly offensive. I think they’re just a blight on the landscape.” Critics invited Mr Hockey to say how coal mines were attractive.

Joe Hockey’s home in the affluent Sydney suburb of Woolwich. Most families wouldn’t be able to afford anything near here, even if they did have a ‘good job’.

The Government was first to push party politics into the housing price debate after Labor pointed out in Parliament that Treasury secretary John Fraser had warned Sydney and parts of Melbourne were suffering from a housing bubble.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott immediately accused Opposition Leader Bill Shorten of wanting people’s homes to lose their value.

“Why members opposite should be saying that somehow people’s houses are worth too much, that’s what the Leader of the Opposition is saying, he is saying that people’s houses are worth too much,” Mr Abbott told Parliament.

“The Leader of the Opposition wants your house to be worth less.”

The Prime Minister did not address the matter of young families struggling to get their first homes.

Labor’s Andrew Leigh said last night Joe Hockey appeared to be the “only person in Australia not to recognise that housing affordability is a major issue for young Australians”.

“I worry constantly about how people in Sydney on a five-figure income can afford a house that costs seven figures,” he said.

“We’ve now had numbers showing that the home ownership rate for 25 to 34-year-olds has fallen 10 percentage points over the last decade from 50 per cent down to 40 per cent.

“That creates real challenges for young Australians looking to break into the housing market.”