From The Campaign Trail

I suspect that my family situation is quite common. In contrast to past generations, my kids will not leave home. I would like to think that this is because they love home life. In my more realistic moments I recognise that they, like thousands of young people, simply cannot leave home. They are struggling to live the Australian dream of home ownership. They are struggling despite the economic management claims of the Howard government. They are struggling despite Howard’s arrogant claim that Australian families have "never had it so good". They are struggling in the face of eight consecutive interest rate rises. They will continue to struggle because Australian families with mortgages are paying the highest percentage of their disposable income in mortgage interest in our history. Housing affordability is now a crucial social and economic issue. That is why I welcome Kevin Rudd's initiative to call a National Housing Affordability Summit. Details of the summit can be found at: http://www.alp.org.au/media/0707/riloo030.php