Ms JODIE HARRISON (Charlestown—Minister for Women, Minister for Seniors, and Minister for the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault) (21:24): For too many young people in my electorate of Charlestown, across the Hunter region and all across New South Wales, home ownership has become a pipe dream.

For far too many right now, the Australian dream is way too far out of reach. Skyrocketing prices, flat wages, interest rate increases and the economic turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic, the recession and 12 years of a Liberal-National Government aimed at helping its mates at the big end of town have hurt first home buyers. Either they have delayed purchasing a home, putting off other big life events as a result, or they have given up on ever stepping foot on the ladder of property ownership. This has economic consequences not just for individuals but also the broader community. It means more people living in insecure housing for longer; it means more economic insecurity and more stress.

I will talk about property prices for a moment. In the suburb of Charlestown in my electorate, the median price for a house is $900,000; five years ago, in May of 2018, the median price for a property in Charlestown was $600,000. It is a similar story in other suburbs in my electorate over five years. Kotara has seen median house prices rise by more than $300,000. Prices in Warners Bay have gone from $625,000 to $910,000. Cardiff has seen the median price rise to $707,500 from $490,000. In Eleebana the median price has climbed by half a million dollars, from $770,000 to $1.23 million. These increases, which have come across the board, have been absolutely demoralising to potential first home buyers in my electorate. I have heard directly from constituents in acute housing stress, so far away from owning their own home that it no longer factors into their short-, medium- or long-term thinking at all.

One New Lambton resident who has rented a two-bedroom apartment in the area, where the median price of a home has risen from $700,000 to just over $1 million, said to me, "It's pretty much a non- starter for me. I am a really good saver. I don't really spend money. But, with house prices the way they are, I just can't see ever really owning my own home. Even renting is getting unaffordable in this area." It is not surprising that young people are giving up on the dream. Rents are spiking. We are all familiar with the impact of the cost of living on so many household budgets. Just making ends meet can be difficult, let alone saving for a house deposit. That is why this bill is so important. The First Home Buyer Legislation Amendment Bill will help alleviate these pressures for five out of six first home buyers. It will help more people, more singles, couples and families, take their first steps onto the property ladder.

The bill will amend the Duties Act 1997 to make the First Home Buyer Assistance scheme more accessible, raising the threshold for stamp duty exemption from $650,000 to $800,000. It will reduce stamp duty for first home buyers of properties worth up to $1 million. It will amend the First Home Owner Grant and Shared Equity Act 2000 to make sure that the First Home Owner Grant goes to people who will actually live in a home for a reasonable amount of time. It will also meet one of Labor's key election commitments: The Property Tax (First Home Buyer Choice) Act 2022 will be amended, doing away with the former Government's complex, unfair "forever tax". As the Premier has said, the bill will create a fairer and simpler system to ensure more first home buyers have a chance of owning their first property. From 1 July this year, these changes will apply to first home buyers who sign a contract to purchase a home and the changes will ensure that the assistance will be better targeted, with protections to ensure the integrity of the scheme.

The legislation will help more young people, particularly those on average incomes and in regional areas such as Newcastle and Lake Macquarie. I note that a lot of debate in this place on the previous bill was about people on the other side having a commitment to regional communities. I do not know why they do not support this bill in its current form, because it is aimed at assisting people who are living in the regions. More importantly, the legislation will not disadvantage the people who opted in to the land tax scheme. They will not be expected to pay stamp duty retrospectively. This Government's scheme will help more first home buyers, who currently would potentially be locked out of ever owning their own home, to take that step and buy a property so they can raise a family in a place that is safe and secure—a place that they can call home.

We will do that in an economically responsible way. I understand that members on the Opposition benches want to move amendments to keep their unfair forever tax system and adopt our fair and sensible proposal. That would cost the taxpayer some $700 million. At a time when an incredible budget crisis has been left to us, that is totally economically irresponsible. Taxpayers' funds are not a magic pudding. That was obviously what those on the other side thought when they were in government and why we are in a huge financial mess in this State, with $180 billion worth of debt, an $11 billion deficit and $7 billion of unfunded risks that those opposite hid while they were in government.

Unlike the previous stamp duty or forever tax scheme, the benefits of this Government's policy will not go disproportionately to the more well off. Under the previous model, those purchasing more expensive homes got bigger discounts, funded by the New South Wales taxpayer, compared with those purchasing a more modestly priced property. Everyone in New South Wales bore the cost of that scheme, but only the 13 per cent of people who could afford a million-dollar property for their first home received the lion's share of the benefit. The bill is good for our State. It is good for the majority of first home buyers, but it will be especially good for people living in my electorate and in regional electorates. After all, 45 per cent of people who received first home buyer assistance in the last financial year were based in regional areas. In contrast, 16 per cent benefited from the previous Government's land tax scheme.

In addition to our first home buyer scheme, this Government has ensured that our policies will support some of the most vulnerable members of our community. The member for Sydney rightly raised the plight of people who are homeless and who are victim-survivors of domestic violence. I appreciate and am thankful for his concern. I am pleased that the Government is expanding the Shared Equity Home Buyer Helper program to include access for victim-survivors of domestic and family violence. We have established a task force to improve housing outcomes for domestic violence victim-survivors, and I am incredibly pleased that Domestic Violence NSW has agreed to join that task force. Recommendations from the task force will be considered as part of the process in preparing the upcoming budget.

Providing safer housing and greater financial security is an incredibly important way in which the New South Wales Government can support domestic violence victim-survivors to achieve better long-term outcomes. It is one step that the New South Wales Government is taking in what will be an ongoing path towards making New South Wales a safer place for victim‑survivors. This Labor Government is absolutely committed to helping people—especially those people who most need help—to access safe and secure housing, and to fixing the housing crisis in this State. The bill is an important first step. I commend it to the House.