JEREMY JONES [HOST]: So, let's jump now to Labor's housing policy and Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese unveiled a plan to allow all Australians looking to climb up the property ladder to buy their first home with a 5 per cent deposit, and avoiding Lenders Mortgage Insurance. The Federal Government would also put $10 billion towards building up to 100,000 homes exclusively for first home buyers. Labor Queensland Senator, Anthony Chisholm is with you now. So, Senator, how does this work?

ANTHONY CHISHOLM [ASSISTANT MINISTER]: So, this is about ensuring that young people or those who are trying to buy a first home can get into their market sooner by only having a 5 per cent deposit and then the government will support them so they can avoid having to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which is obviously quite challenging when you've got to get that 20 per cent deposit, given the cost of houses these days. So, we think that this is real practical help and it means that people will be able to get into the market sooner once they've got a 5 per cent deposit rather than trying to reach that 20 per cent, or relying on the bank of Mum and Dad, or whatever it is to get that extra money. So, this is based on a scheme that's already successful now, but we're expanding it and giving more Australians the opportunity to buy their first house.

JONES: And the $10 billion towards building 100,000 homes, where will those be built?

CHISHOLM: They'll be built in conjunction with private developers but also state governments as well. So, the NSW State Government has a successful scheme in this regard, so does South Australia. So, we want to expand those schemes around the country, and I think this is the key difference between the government's approach versus the Coalition’s. We're actually doing something about affordability by helping first home buyers, but we're also going to be building more dwellings for people who are first home buyers so they can get into the market. I think you've got to have both, and I think that all the Coalition’s plan will do is actually drive up prices rather than actually enabling people to get into the market and building more homes as well.

JONES: So, that has also been a criticism of Labor's policies. It could drive up prices as well by making people eligible for mortgages that otherwise wouldn't be. What do you say to this?

CHISHOLM: We don't believe that's the case because Treasury have done the modelling and have said it's unlikely to have a significant impact on prices. But this isn't enabling people to borrow, which is what the Coalition’s policy does. This is about ensuring that they can get that deposit and avoid having to pay Lenders Mortgage Insurance, which would save most people around $23,000, which is significant.

JONES: Well, Senator for Queensland, Anthony Chisholm, thanks for your time this morning.

CHISHOLM: Thank you.