You're invited to a super house party
Scott Morrison will open the door for you to use your superannuation to buy your first home, if he is re-elected.
Scott Morrison will open the door for you to use your superannuation to buy your first home, if he is re-elected.
Scott Morrison says he will allow first home buyers to use their superannuation to purchase a property if he is re-elected on May 21.
At the official launch of the Coalition party's election campaign in Brisbane on Sunday, the Prime Minister said the policy would be a "game changer" for Australians and would "take years off the need to pay rent and challenges of saving."
"We want to further help Australians get past what is the biggest hurdle on their path to home homeownership... and that is the difficulty of saving for a deposit and be able to use their own money to do it and that's why a re-elected coalition government will allow first home buyers to invest a responsible portion of their own superannuation savings into their first home," he said.
Under the Super Home Buyer Scheme, first home buyers will be able to invest up to 40% of their superannuation or a maximum of $50,000 to help with the purchase of their first home. The program will start on July 1 next year if Morrison is successful on election day.
It comes after the government announced a separate housing scheme to encourage older Australians to downsize their property and invest up to $300,000 per person from the proceeds of the sale into their superannuation fund, which Anthony Albanese has promised to match.
But Labor is not keen on the superannuation policy and say they won't follow through with it themselves if they win on May 21.
Labor's housing spokesman Jason Clare on Sunday said the scheme would "supercharge" house prices and would only benefit existing homeowners and the banks.
“If Labor wins the election in six days' time, your super will be safe and we’ll help you to buy a home,” he said.
“You shouldn’t have to raid your super to buy a home and you won’t under Labor."
At the launch Mr Morrison said it wasn’t right you could use super for an investment property but not your home.
“You can already use your super to purchase an investment property. But not your own home,’’ he said. “Other countries such as New Zealand and Canada also have policies that allow people to use their retirement savings to help them buy their home and under a Morrison government, you will be able to do that too.
“This is about increasing, increasing the choices available to you, within your super. It’s your money!”
Unlike the Labor party’s party a fortnight ago, which was like a political music festival featuring a cameo voiceover from Hollywood superstar Russell Crowe and the sound of GANGgajang’s Songs of Then (This is Australia) blasting over the speakers, the Liberal launch had fewer bells and whistles.
But despite being a more pared-back affair, Morrison used the launch as an opportunity to hit the reset button and give his supporters a bit of a morale boost, reminding them he has performed a miracle once before, having been written-off at the same stage of the 2019 campaign.
“I’m seeking a second term because I’m just warming up,” he said. “As a prime minister, you pour your heart and soul into this job every single day. You do all you can to help Australians achieve their aspirations. You don’t get everything right. I’ve never pretended that I have. But I tell you what, I never leave anything on the field.
“I’m seeking a second term to ensure that we can take this to the next level, to those better days.”
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg also spoke at the Brisbane event and spruiked the government's strong economic management.
He got a massive standing ovation and even cracked a joke, saying he wished he received such a warm reception in his own Melbourne electorate of Kooyong, where he is fighting a fierce contest against Independent candidate Monique Ryan.
Meghan Markle’s favourite face gym is opening in Australia, Greta Thunberg publishes Andrew Tate’s contact details
All the news that's fit to mint.
Emily Ratajkowski joins the competitive world of online dating, Nick Kyrgios quits at the last minute
All the news that's fit to mint.