Boomers’ awkward silence after renter slams Liberal Party plan for first-home buyers to access their super

A renter has triggered nervous chuckles from the audience after slamming the “inequality” in the housing market and one party’s plans for young buyers.

A young renter’s gripe with the ongoing housing crisis has left older Australians nervous after slamming the Liberal Party’s plan for first-home buyers to access their superannuation.

Maja Petrovic, who is renting with her family, grilled the ABC’s Q&A panel on Monday night about Australia’s housing market.

She questioned why she should have to rely on her superannuation to secure a deposit for her first property when older Australians “didn’t have to use their super to buy their 26th home”.

“The dream of home ownership feels out of reach,” she said, arguing it was unfair she and millennial and Gen Z residents had to rely on their retirement savings to buy a home while Gen X and baby boomers could rely solely on their income.

Max Chandler-Mather has slammed former prime minister John Howard for ‘locking’ young Australians out of buying their first home. Picture: Q&A

The Coalition is promising to allow first-home buyers to withdraw up to 40 per cent of their super – to a maximum of $50,000 – to buy a house. If the home is sold, the withdrawn amount would have to be repaid into super.

“I am sure some people didn’t have to use their super to buy their 26th home either? I don’t know why we should have to do that?” she asked the line-up, which featured Labor Minister for Emergency Management Jenny McAllister, Liberal senator Andrew Bragg, Greens MP Max Chandler-Mather, activist Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis and journalist Marc Fennell.

“We can all use our super but all the house prices go up anyway and who benefits? House owners,” Ms Petrovic said.

Mr Chandler-Mather swept in and bolstered Ms Petrovic’s exasperation.

“Defining question of inequality, and inequality is the right question of this question,” he said.

“There are politicians in Canberra who got to buy a house for three to four times the average income.

“We are being told our generation, we have to drain our retirement savings now.

“How dare they, really,” he slammed.

Maja Petrovic said buying a home for her family was ‘out of reach’. Picture: Q&A

His speech triggered applause from some of the audience, while the older audience members nervously chuckled and others nodded in agreement.

Mr Chandler-Mather then placed the blame squarely on the capital gains tax discount introduced by former prime minister John Howard in 1999.

“The rot started when John Howard introduced the capital gains tax discount,” he said.

“That is why we are locked out of home ownership.

“Every time a property investor uses the tax handouts to bid up the price of housing, we get screwed.

“It has to change.”

Andrew Bragg rejected the idea of using superannuation only for retirement. Picture: Q&A

But in response, Liberal senator Andrew Bragg told Ms Petrovic that she was “better off in the long term” by relying on super to help buy a home, as the pension would still be there for Australians when they retired.

“This idea is rigid thinking that superannuation is the only way to get to a comfortable retirement,” he said.

“Housing is at the core of a safe retirement. That is what we want to give people the option. It is a choice. You don’t have to use it but if you want to, you can use it.”
But when Mr Chandler-Mather challenged the Liberal senator by suggesting they “stop giving people with 10 investment properties money to buy another property”, Mr Bragg shot it down.

“It makes no difference,” he said.

Peter Dutton said the Coalition’s plan to allow residents to access their superannuation early would “improve their net position, as the price of the house increases over the course of their life”.

“When they dispose of the house, we want to put the money back into their superannuation so that that can compound and help them in retirement,” the Opposition Leader said.