debt

Guest Post: Housing in Australia– Investment Vehicle or Social Institution?

by admin
July 3, 2015

Written by Christopher Chew

Monash University

JOURNALIST:

Treasurer, do you accept that housing in Sydney is unaffordable and the only way we’re going to make it affordable is if real house prices in real terms actually fall over the near term?

TREASURER JOE HOCKEY:

No. Look, if housing were unaffordable in Sydney, no one would be buying it…it’s expensive.…but, having said that…a lot of people would much rather have their homes go up in value…

JOURNALIST:

You say that housing is affordable…what about for first home buyers…people that don’t have access to equity in other properties?

TREASURER JOE HOCKEY:

…the starting point for a first home buyer is to get a good job that pays good money… you can go to the bank and you can borrow money and that’s readily affordable…

Source: http://jbh.ministers.treasury.gov.au/transcript/144-2015/

Recent careless comments made by Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey during a radio interview (see above) have provoked a firestorm of media outrage and scorn, with accusations of being ‘out of touch’ and elitist. In all fairness, more has been made of these comments than is likely warranted – though the Treasurer’s enviable property portfolio, including an AUD$5.4 million primary residence, a history of previous embarrassing gaffes hasn’t helped.