Young voters in Australia's most expensive towns slam housing policies ahead of federal electionBy Tim FernandezABC IllawarraTopic:Housing Policy1h ago1 hours agoTue 29 Apr 2025 at 8:59pmAlex Moore lives in Australia's most expensive regional town. (ABC Illawarra: Tim Fernandez)abc.net.au/news/young-voters-slam-housing-policies-federal-election-2025/105223452Link copiedShareShare articleWhen Alex Moore walks out his front door, he sees a "for sale" sign in front of the house across the road.It's a reminder of a dream that feels completely out of reach.Stay updated:Federal election live updates: Get the latest news from the campaign trailCatch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on ABC iview and ABC Listen"[It is] currently going for around $3 million — an average house, unrenovated, three or four bedrooms, one level," he said."I will never be able to live where I grew up."An aerial view of a lighthouse in Kiama, NSW. (ABC Illawarra: Justin Huntsdale)The 21-year-old student lives in the idyllic beachside town of Kiama on the New South Wales South Coast.With a median home price of almost $1.5m, it is the most expensive place to buy a home in regional Australia.Labor and the Coalition have launched their pitches to help young voters hoping to get a foot on the property ladder.Labor will allow all Australians to buy their first home with a 5 per cent deposit and is promising to build 100,000 homes reserved for first-home buyers.The Coalition will allow people to dip into their superannuation for a house deposit and claim interest paid on a mortgage as a tax deduction providing it is a new build.Young people like Alex Moore living in Australia's most expensive towns are disappointed with both major parties' housing policies. (ABC Illawarra: Tim Fernandez)But Mr Moore is not convinced."It makes me angry," he said."This is a bandaid solution — this isn't anything long term that is going to be suitable for people of my generation."There's no vision for the future and I don't understand what the endgame is supposed to be, for either of the major parties."The electorate of Richmond, which includes the popular beachside town of Byron Bay, is the least affordable seat in regional Australia. (ABC North Coast: Matt Coble)Least affordable electorateIn the past five years, house prices in the regions have climbed, on average, by 57.4 per cent compared to 34.1 per cent in the capital cities.On the north coast of NSW, Byron Bay continues to attract the rich and the famous, but its housing crisis is repelling young people.Chandre McSweeney does not feel the major parties are thinking about young people. (ABC North Coast: Elloise Farrow-Smith)It took social worker Chandre McSweeney three months to find her share house in the Byron Shire town of Mullumbimby.The 29-year-old lives with four housemates and is still paying more rent than ever."It is a dream to buy a house, but I just don't think as a single person that is a possibility," Ms McSweeney said.Byron Bay and Mullumbimby sit in the electorate of Richmond, the most difficult electorate in regional Australia to buy a home.A housing affordability analysis by CoreLogic found it was also the least affordable electorate in the country to rent.It would take a household a median time of 16.5 years to save a 20 per cent deposit, while tenants were paying a median of almost half their income on rent.Ms McSweeney doubts either major party will improve her situation."I don't think they really are thinking about young people like me," she said."What I think would speak to me more would be if they would bring down housing prices and rent prices as well."Read more about the federal election:ANALYSIS: Why Dutton can't resort to a scare campaign with older AustraliansAustralia's next prime minister will inherit a 'world in disarray'Find out how your views line up with the major parties with Vote CompassWant even more? Here's where you can find all our 2025 federal election coverageUpward pressure on pricesExperts are worried that both major parties' policies are likely to drive up the cost of housing.Research from the McKell Institute found the superannuation for housing policy could see median home prices increase by $150,000 in Adelaide and $70,000 in Sydney.The public policy think tank's executive director, Rebecca Thistleton, said the scheme was particularly unhelpful for young people and women."It has been quite disappointing to see so much of the opposition's rhetoric has been around how this will help women and young people, when these are the people who do not actually have those funds in their superannuation to begin with," she said.Ms Thistleton said the Coalition's other policy of claiming interest as a tax deduction would mostly help wealthier individuals."The greater your income is, the more that policy actually rewards you," she said."I would understand, if you were a young renter, why this would be a real slap in the face."Ms Thistleton welcomed Labor's pledge to build new homes for first-home buyers but was sceptical about whether the scheme would move the needle on supply because of construction constraints.Kiama is a popular tourist destination, but high prices make it hard for young people to live there. (ABC Illawarra: Tim Fernandez)Policies encourage short-stay rentalsThe housing policy neither major party wants to talk about this election is tax reform.Like many coastal Australian towns, many homes in both Kiama and Byron Bay are leased as short-term rentals."It is actually quite attractive for people to have an investment property in a coastal or a regional area and have it up on a short-stay website and negatively gear it," Ms Thistleton said."That is one less property for a young person who's looking for somewhere to live."Mr Moore and Ms McSweeney believe the policy settings in place favour people who already have homes and property investors at the expense of people such as them.Neither major party is likely to get their vote at this election.Kate Dezarnaulds says neither major party has the courage to tackle housing affordability. (ABC Illawarra: Tim Fernandez)Independent candidate Kate Dezarnaulds, who is running in the Kiama electorate of Gilmore, says voters dissatisfied with the "short-term sugar hits" offered by the major parties are backing minor parties and independents."The status quo just seems to keep on keeping on, like a freight train, and the gap between the haves and the have-nots gets bigger and bigger," she said."How are we going to get back to a place where there is housing as a human right and get out of this two generations of housing as an investment class that is benefiting an increasingly narrow group of our population?"Alex Moore doesn't think he'll ever be able to afford to live in his home town. (ABC Illawarra: Tim Fernandez)Ms Dezarnaulds wants government investment in long-term rental stock and establishing schemes to house essential workers in regional communities.Mr Moore just wants a future in the town where he grew up."It is very difficult to have this idealism that we can have a better world when you're looking right in front of you and there's just no future ahead of it for you," he said.LoadingLoading...Having trouble seeing this form? 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