Independent candidate for Sturt, Dr Verity Cooper, has welcomed the renewed focus by both major parties on Australia’s housing crisis, but warns that today’s announcements fall short of delivering meaningful, long-term solutions.

“I commend the Government and the Opposition for turning their attention to the housing crisis. But this is a problem born of nearly 30 years of underinvestment and poor policy decisions, which have treated housing as a vehicle for investment and profit, rather than prioritising the needs of owner-occupiers,” Dr Cooper said.

Liberal proposal: “Reactive, not reformative.”
Dr Cooper raised concerns over the Coalition’s headline policy to allow first home buyers to claim tax deductions on mortgage interest.

“While it might sound helpful on the surface, this policy acts only to subsidise buyers and, with no measures to increase housing supply, it is likely to push overall prices even higher. It smacks of a policy made on the run,” she said.

“Tax deductions will most help the high income earners - those on lower incomes don't gain a lot by this tax deductibility, and they are the ones struggling the most to get into the housing market. This policy feeds the rich getting richer model.”

Dr Cooper highlighted the Coalition’s earlier policy announcement allowing first home buyers to withdraw up to $50,000 from their superannuation to use as a house deposit, calling it as another example of short-term thinking that will likely worsen affordability in the long run.

She supports meaningful Government investment to assist first home buyers, but stresses it must be done through considered, long-term measures—not short-term vote-chasing. “Quite simply, it is again borrowing from tomorrow to fund a band-aid solution today,” she said.

“When paired with a temporary $1,200 tax cut, these proposals seem more focused on the ballot box than the building site. Worse still, they may add pressure to inflation forecasts and limit the Reserve Bank’s ability to deliver interest rate relief, hurting owner-occupiers already under mortgage stress.”

Labor’s response: “A step forward, but still cautious.”
Dr Cooper welcomed Labor’s announcement to invest in the construction of 100,000 new homes, describing it as a “step in the right direction” that finally targets the supply side of the housing equation.

However, she expressed concern that the decision to once again expand the First Home Buyer Scheme remains focused on increasing demand, a strategy that risks driving prices up without enough new stock to balance the market.

“Unlike the repeated tinkering around the edges we’ve seen for years, this is a supply-side measure that can actually begin to improve affordability and support future generations to be able to own their own home, not just dream about doing so,” she said.

The real work: structural reform
Dr Cooper said 30 years of Government policy had incentivised the market to treat homes as investment vehicles.

“Until we shift that paradigm, we’re simply putting band-aids on a broken system,” she said. “We must tackle this through tax reform, including a review of the capital gains discount on unlimited investment properties and unrestricted negative gearing to genuinely address the issues.

“These generous tax concessions distort the market and disadvantage those trying to buy a home to live in. Until we confront these structural issues, young Australians will continue to be locked out of home ownership,” she said.

A vision for the future
Dr Cooper urges all parties to stop treating housing policy as a political tool and instead commit to long-term reform that prioritises affordability and accessibility.

“We need bold, evidence-based policy—not electioneering. Future generations need homes, not headlines,” she said.