1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:03,800 Speaker 1: It's been many years since Darwin sore are boosting the 2 00:00:03,840 --> 00:00:06,960 Speaker 1: house prices, but last year they rose by more than 3 00:00:07,080 --> 00:00:10,039 Speaker 1: fifteen percent. That was according to real estate dot Com. 4 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:14,520 Speaker 1: Now that reignited the conversation around how can first time 5 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:18,000 Speaker 1: buyers break into the market. There was calls for the 6 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:21,600 Speaker 1: Albanezy government to increase its price cap of six hundred 7 00:00:21,640 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: thousand dollars when it comes to the five percent deposit scheme. Now, 8 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:28,040 Speaker 1: if you've been listening to this show towards the end 9 00:00:28,080 --> 00:00:30,320 Speaker 1: of the year and the beginning of this year, there 10 00:00:30,360 --> 00:00:33,680 Speaker 1: was some pretty robust conversations with Luke Gosling, the Member 11 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,120 Speaker 1: for Solomon, about the need for the cap to be lifted. Now, 12 00:00:37,159 --> 00:00:40,559 Speaker 1: in some good news, the Commonwealth is doing just that. 13 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:43,560 Speaker 1: And joining us in the studio is the Federal Housing 14 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:46,400 Speaker 1: Minister Claire O'Neil. Good morning and welcome to Darward. 15 00:00:46,440 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 2: Good morning. 16 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 3: I'm so happy to be here, Katie. I was saying 17 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:51,000 Speaker 3: to you before I used to live in the Northern Territories. 18 00:00:51,080 --> 00:00:53,360 Speaker 3: It's so great to be back here. Yeah, well, you 19 00:00:53,400 --> 00:00:56,279 Speaker 3: made it sound like you want to move back. Well, 20 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:58,560 Speaker 3: I'm a Member of Parliament from Victoria, so that my 21 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:00,880 Speaker 3: job makes that really hard, but honestly, life of the 22 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,479 Speaker 3: territory for me is this absolute bliss. I love it here. 23 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:07,440 Speaker 3: The people are so chilled, so friendly, and I reckon 24 00:01:07,480 --> 00:01:08,520 Speaker 3: it's the best of Australia. 25 00:01:08,640 --> 00:01:09,800 Speaker 2: Oh well, we think it is. 26 00:01:09,840 --> 00:01:11,600 Speaker 1: That's why we live here. But I tell you what, 27 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:13,399 Speaker 1: it's been a bit tough for some people to be 28 00:01:13,440 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 1: able to enter the housing market, and this is something 29 00:01:16,040 --> 00:01:18,919 Speaker 1: that we're having some pretty robust sort of discussions about 30 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:21,360 Speaker 1: towards the end of last year and the beginning of 31 00:01:21,360 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 1: this year, particularly those first time buys trying to enter 32 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:29,039 Speaker 1: the housing market. Now this cap it's being lifted. I 33 00:01:29,040 --> 00:01:30,840 Speaker 1: think it's going to be music to the ears of 34 00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:33,320 Speaker 1: a lot of people that are listening this morning. Why 35 00:01:33,360 --> 00:01:35,120 Speaker 1: did you decide to go down this path? 36 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:38,560 Speaker 3: Well, we recognize that housing is a really big issue 37 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,679 Speaker 3: for families here in the territory, and your local member 38 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 3: Luke Gosling and I share of you that the federal 39 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:47,760 Speaker 3: government should be doing everything it can to help, and 40 00:01:47,760 --> 00:01:48,680 Speaker 3: we're doing lots of things. 41 00:01:48,720 --> 00:01:50,160 Speaker 2: We're building more homes. 42 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:52,600 Speaker 3: We're helping renters get a better deal, and really important 43 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:55,040 Speaker 3: to me and Luke is getting more Australians into home ownership. 44 00:01:55,240 --> 00:01:57,559 Speaker 3: So the expansion that we're making as of one July 45 00:01:57,800 --> 00:02:00,280 Speaker 3: is going to give many people in the territory better 46 00:02:00,360 --> 00:02:02,320 Speaker 3: chance at getting into their own home. And I do 47 00:02:02,360 --> 00:02:05,120 Speaker 3: want to say this would not have happened without the 48 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:08,400 Speaker 3: ferocious advocacy of Luke Gosling. He has been at me 49 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,040 Speaker 3: about this, about his constituents getting proper access to first 50 00:02:12,080 --> 00:02:14,080 Speaker 3: time ownership, and this is why this change is being 51 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:14,679 Speaker 3: made now. 52 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:17,200 Speaker 1: One of our listeners has been in contact and said, 53 00:02:17,520 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: is this just for Darwin or does it sort of 54 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: include the greater Darwin region I Litchfield and Palmerston as 55 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:24,079 Speaker 1: well Yees. 56 00:02:24,120 --> 00:02:28,320 Speaker 3: So Litchfield and Parmesan will be included in the new arrangements, 57 00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:30,520 Speaker 3: so up to seven hundred and fifty thousand, and then 58 00:02:30,680 --> 00:02:33,680 Speaker 3: outside of Darwin, the rest of the Northern territory will 59 00:02:33,680 --> 00:02:35,800 Speaker 3: have a limit of six hundred thousand, which is what 60 00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:36,400 Speaker 3: it was before. 61 00:02:36,440 --> 00:02:38,440 Speaker 1: So and is that just reflective of the market, like 62 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,240 Speaker 1: in terms of how expensive places. 63 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:43,120 Speaker 3: So what we've done is basically said, look, house prices 64 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:45,239 Speaker 3: in Darwin actually do look quite different to the rest 65 00:02:45,240 --> 00:02:47,280 Speaker 3: of the territory. We need to recognize that to give 66 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:48,960 Speaker 3: people in dah On the right opportunities. 67 00:02:49,120 --> 00:02:50,639 Speaker 2: So Now, if you're listening. 68 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:52,760 Speaker 3: If you want to get into the housing market earlier, 69 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:54,840 Speaker 3: you can do that with a five percent deposit and 70 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:56,560 Speaker 3: the Albanesi government's backing, and it's. 71 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:57,560 Speaker 2: All thanks to Luke Gosling. 72 00:02:57,800 --> 00:02:59,799 Speaker 1: I know that there's always sort of you know, some 73 00:03:00,120 --> 00:03:02,320 Speaker 1: let's say, oh, we're going to get first time buy 74 00:03:02,480 --> 00:03:04,720 Speaker 1: sort of entering a market and then they're not able 75 00:03:04,760 --> 00:03:07,440 Speaker 1: to afford to, you know, to pay down their mortgage. 76 00:03:07,440 --> 00:03:08,520 Speaker 1: What do you say to that. 77 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:10,640 Speaker 3: Look, it's just not what the evidence shows us. What 78 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:14,440 Speaker 3: the evidence shows is that Australians greatly value the chance 79 00:03:14,520 --> 00:03:16,440 Speaker 3: to get into their own home, and once they're in 80 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:19,280 Speaker 3: their own home, they will pay off that mortgage diligently 81 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,240 Speaker 3: over time. The evidence from people who are working with 82 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 3: a five percent deposit program shows that they're actually a 83 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:28,040 Speaker 3: little bit ahead of most other Australians on their mortgages. 84 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:32,040 Speaker 3: We trust that Australians take their financial responsibilities really seriously 85 00:03:32,160 --> 00:03:34,160 Speaker 3: and the evidence shows us as they do and they 86 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:35,640 Speaker 3: do repay that mortgage over time. 87 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,680 Speaker 1: Minister. Obviously some people might be listening saying, why wasn't 88 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,960 Speaker 1: this something that was bought in originally? Given that other 89 00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:46,520 Speaker 1: states had two property price caps. To recognize the different 90 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:49,040 Speaker 1: housing markets. You know, some will be listening going why 91 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:50,040 Speaker 1: did it take so long? 92 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 3: Look, I think if the worst thing you can say 93 00:03:52,280 --> 00:03:54,480 Speaker 3: about a policy change is that it should have happened sooner, 94 00:03:54,720 --> 00:03:57,320 Speaker 3: that's probably think telling us all is a really good thing. 95 00:03:57,640 --> 00:03:59,160 Speaker 3: I think the main thing here is we want to 96 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:01,480 Speaker 3: make sure that terror Tourians have got the same housing 97 00:04:01,480 --> 00:04:03,960 Speaker 3: opportunities as people around the rest of the country. We 98 00:04:04,080 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 3: are making this change as of one July and it's 99 00:04:05,960 --> 00:04:08,200 Speaker 3: going to mean better home ownership opportunities for people here. 100 00:04:08,200 --> 00:04:12,360 Speaker 1: And di one Minister more generally or more broadly, how 101 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:16,440 Speaker 1: has this scheme been you know, sort of been accepted. 102 00:04:16,480 --> 00:04:19,159 Speaker 1: I guess around Australia, are you seeing quite a few 103 00:04:19,200 --> 00:04:21,640 Speaker 1: people want to actually into the market in this way? 104 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:23,560 Speaker 2: It is massively popular. 105 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:26,680 Speaker 3: We've had two hundred and twenty thousand Australians get into 106 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,000 Speaker 3: their first home now with the Albanzi governments backing, and 107 00:04:30,040 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 3: they're doing that because they want to get into the 108 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,840 Speaker 3: housing market as quickly as possible. We can show that, 109 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 3: you know, on average, Australians are having to save ten 110 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,640 Speaker 3: or eleven years to build that twenty percent deposit. It 111 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:43,720 Speaker 3: takes them usually two or three years to get into 112 00:04:43,760 --> 00:04:46,240 Speaker 3: the market if they used a five percent deposit program. 113 00:04:46,320 --> 00:04:49,640 Speaker 3: Now that is massively beneficial, not just because they get 114 00:04:49,680 --> 00:04:52,159 Speaker 3: that chance for stability earlier in their life, but they're 115 00:04:52,200 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 3: missing out now on eight years of having to pay 116 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:57,240 Speaker 3: rent and pay off someone else's mortgage. We're giving them 117 00:04:57,240 --> 00:04:58,839 Speaker 3: the chance to pay off their own and build their 118 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:00,400 Speaker 3: own financial future for them family. 119 00:05:00,480 --> 00:05:00,840 Speaker 2: Yeah. 120 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: Look, it's something I think about quite a bit in 121 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:06,440 Speaker 1: terms of our younger generation as well. You know, like 122 00:05:06,520 --> 00:05:08,480 Speaker 1: you and I I guess our age groups, so I'm 123 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:10,360 Speaker 1: probably a bit older than you, but our age groups, 124 00:05:10,360 --> 00:05:12,720 Speaker 1: you know, being able to enter the housing market and 125 00:05:12,800 --> 00:05:14,960 Speaker 1: being able to say for a deposit and get your 126 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,200 Speaker 1: own home. I worry about that younger generation. I worry 127 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:20,680 Speaker 1: about my children, my nieces and nephews being able to 128 00:05:20,720 --> 00:05:23,359 Speaker 1: get into the housing market and buy into, you know, 129 00:05:23,400 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 1: the Australian dream like so many of us have been 130 00:05:25,600 --> 00:05:26,160 Speaker 1: able to do. 131 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 3: Yeah. 132 00:05:26,720 --> 00:05:29,000 Speaker 2: Look, I share that with you one thousand percent. 133 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:32,360 Speaker 3: And there's no question that for all the housing issues 134 00:05:32,400 --> 00:05:36,480 Speaker 3: facing the country, they are falling so unfairly on younger Australians. 135 00:05:36,520 --> 00:05:38,920 Speaker 2: And I'm in younger Australians broadly defined. I think if 136 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 2: you take the average. 137 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:42,240 Speaker 3: Person who's forty years old in the country and go 138 00:05:42,320 --> 00:05:44,760 Speaker 3: all the way down to people who are just leaving school, 139 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:47,320 Speaker 3: for most of them, housing will be an issue in 140 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:49,680 Speaker 3: their lives in some way or another that is different 141 00:05:49,720 --> 00:05:51,880 Speaker 3: to previous generations. And I think the rest of us 142 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:54,960 Speaker 3: have got real responsibilities here. Now I'm the Housing Minister. 143 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 3: I am doing everything that I can to make sure 144 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:01,320 Speaker 3: that we restore balance here. And that's why the federal 145 00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:05,279 Speaker 3: government's really getting into this so deeply. You probably know 146 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:07,520 Speaker 3: that for most of the year years the Coalition were 147 00:06:07,520 --> 00:06:10,640 Speaker 3: in powered, they really thought housing wasn't something that Commonwealth 148 00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:11,040 Speaker 3: should do. 149 00:06:11,279 --> 00:06:12,479 Speaker 2: We've got a very different view. 150 00:06:12,560 --> 00:06:14,960 Speaker 3: We're actually doing more about housing at the federal level 151 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 3: than an Australian government's done since the nineteen fifties. 152 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:19,599 Speaker 2: And that's how seriously we take this. 153 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:21,680 Speaker 1: And there's more to come, just a quick one, I know, 154 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:24,160 Speaker 1: like the I know here in the Northern Territory are 155 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:28,880 Speaker 1: wait lists you know for public housing astronomical and obviously 156 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:33,520 Speaker 1: the Northern Territory government does receive federal funding for public housing. 157 00:06:33,920 --> 00:06:35,840 Speaker 1: Like how big a worry is that for you? Not 158 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:38,039 Speaker 1: just here in the Northern territory, but across the board 159 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:39,919 Speaker 1: that you know, in some cases people are waiting like 160 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:42,440 Speaker 1: ten years to access public housing. 161 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:45,080 Speaker 3: And again that's one of the things that's really changed. 162 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 3: If we look thirty or forty years ago, things were 163 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,000 Speaker 3: quite different and if you were in a really dire need, 164 00:06:51,000 --> 00:06:53,279 Speaker 3: if your family was just on tough straits, then you 165 00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:55,640 Speaker 3: would get the chance often to get into social housing. 166 00:06:55,680 --> 00:06:58,480 Speaker 3: And that's really changed. So what's the federal government doing 167 00:06:58,560 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 3: about this. We're doing something that government hasn't done in 168 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:04,600 Speaker 3: many decades, and that is roll up our sleeves and 169 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:08,479 Speaker 3: build homes at scale ourselves. So normally the states have 170 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,679 Speaker 3: taken responsibility for this, we're actually stepping in and saying 171 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:14,320 Speaker 3: we need to help now. So we're building fifty five 172 00:07:14,360 --> 00:07:17,760 Speaker 3: thousand social and affordable homes right around the country. More 173 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,400 Speaker 3: than a thousand have actually already been completed in the 174 00:07:20,520 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 3: territory here, and we'll keep doing that work. But I 175 00:07:23,320 --> 00:07:25,480 Speaker 3: will say we do need the states and territories to 176 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:28,040 Speaker 3: keep stepping up on this. The federal government alone can't 177 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,240 Speaker 3: fix this problem, but we also see it won't get 178 00:07:30,240 --> 00:07:30,880 Speaker 3: fixed without us. 179 00:07:30,880 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 2: It just with those thousand houses. 180 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:34,880 Speaker 1: How does that work? Does a federal government then engage 181 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,320 Speaker 1: you know, contractors to do those jobs here in the 182 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:40,200 Speaker 1: Northern Territory, or is it through social housing enterprise. 183 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 2: So there's two big ways that we would normally do this. 184 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:45,640 Speaker 3: Sometimes we work directly with the states, so we actually 185 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:47,800 Speaker 3: do a partnership of the states build the homes that 186 00:07:47,840 --> 00:07:51,480 Speaker 3: we will contribute to financially. But otherwise we have community 187 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:55,600 Speaker 3: housing providers that might be non government organizations that for 188 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,840 Speaker 3: example up here on the territory, they'll be indigenous housing 189 00:07:59,120 --> 00:08:02,080 Speaker 3: organizations that we would fund directly to build homes and 190 00:08:02,160 --> 00:08:03,880 Speaker 3: run those homes on behalf of the government. 191 00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: Well, Claire O'Neill, Federal Housing Minister, it's been wonderful to 192 00:08:07,560 --> 00:08:09,440 Speaker 1: have you in the studio this morning. Hey, before I 193 00:08:09,520 --> 00:08:12,120 Speaker 1: let you go, we've been really stalking the health minister Mark, 194 00:08:12,160 --> 00:08:13,520 Speaker 1: but let it try and get him on the show. 195 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: Can you put in a good word for us? 196 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:17,320 Speaker 3: I will absolutely do that, Katie. I'm sure he'd love 197 00:08:17,360 --> 00:08:18,960 Speaker 3: to come and talk to you. He's a great guy. 198 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:20,120 Speaker 2: And but let's get. 199 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 3: Look Gosling onto it, because that guy's got a good 200 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:24,240 Speaker 3: record of delivery and he's a good storm cut. 201 00:08:24,240 --> 00:08:25,680 Speaker 2: So let's get looked onto it. I'm sure you can 202 00:08:25,720 --> 00:08:26,239 Speaker 2: make it happen. 203 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: Good stuff, Claire O'Neil, Thanks so much for your time 204 00:08:28,800 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: this morning. Much appreciated.