Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has come under fire for a “sales pitch” on social media that encouraged Australians to tell their friends about Labor’s first home buyer program.
Ms O’Neil posted the video on her X account on Monday afternoon to promote the expansion of the government’s Housing Guarantee Scheme.
The scheme allows first-home buyers, regional buyers and single parents to purchase a property with a deposit of five per cent or less, rather than the usual 10 to 20 per cent normally required for a home loan.
In the caption, she wrote: “Thinking about buying a home? Is a friend of yours thinking about it? Tell them about Labour’s extended Home Guarantee Scheme and you could be eligible to buy with a 5 per cent deposit or less.”
She said in the video: “Buying a home is one of the most important things you will ever do in your life and the Albanese government wants to be there for you when it matters.”
“We want more Australians to have the option to move from renting to home ownership and the Home Guarantee Scheme is one of the ways we are helping right now.”
Ms O’Neil explained that the government was working with banks to make the scheme possible, before saying “make sure you tell your friends”.
But the video sparked a backlash from the housing minister, who compared her to a used car salesman.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neil has come under fire for a social media post about Labour’s housing plan (pictured)
One user asked: “Why does it look like you’re selling a used car in all your videos?”
Someone else said, ‘Your job is not to be a pyramid scheme saleswoman.’
A third user said: “I love the part, the government is working with the banks to make this possible… the gold.”
Others said demand for housing would only push prices up further, pointing out that it was becoming harder for renters to save a deposit as rental prices continued to rise.
“Hey Clare, can you explain to me how your home buying assistance program is driving down the price of homes? I’m asking for a friend,” one user said.
‘Someone else said, ‘No thanks. Right now, as a single renter earning over $110,000 in Sydney, I’m basically scraping by because rent is almost 50 percent and that’s in the southwest… not the CBD.
‘Australian house prices are legally sanctioned scams.’
Australians were not convinced by the comments of the Housing Minister (pictured)
Some expressed concern that a deposit of five per cent or less significantly increases the weekly mortgage payments of a typical 30-year loan, putting further pressure on first-home buyers.
Not everyone was critical, however: some said it was a good way to ensure first-home buyers can get into the property market.
“This is great, but at 70 I’m afraid the idea of buying my own house is out of reach for my wife and I unless we win the lottery, but it will help the younger ones,” one user said.
The Albanian government has also pledged to help more people afford housing by building 1.2 million houses over five years.
The Labour Party claimed the developments would increase supply and drive down prices, but the plan has been heavily criticised as a money-making scheme for wealthy developers.