Pauline Hanson's warning for Australia: 'We need to act NOW'
Record-high immigration levels under Labor have worsened Australia's housing affordability crisis, with the median house price in capital cities now above $1million - putting it well beyond the reach of an average, full-time worker earning $102,742.
Senator Hanson said both Labor and the Coalition were more focused on winning votes in marginal seats rather than making housing affordable.
'Young Aussies want to own a home, start a family, and live in a nation they can be proud of, but both major parties are standing in the way,' she said.
'Labor buys votes with handouts, then dumps the debt on the next generation.
'The Liberals skirt around the real issues, too afraid of losing votes to fight back against the decline.
'Meanwhile, mass immigration keeps driving up housing demand, straining services, and undercutting wages. Australians are being pushed to the back of the queue in their own country.'
Last year, 340,800 migrants moved to Australia on a permanent and long-term basis.
This net figure, factoring in departures, was lower than the record-high levels approaching 550,000 in 2023.
But it was significantly higher than the 194,000 who came to Australia in the lead-up to Covid in 2020.
As a result, house prices in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide have outpaced wages growth since the pandemic, even though the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates 13 times in 2022 and 2023.
The average-full time worker can now longer afford the median-priced house in any major capital city market, except Darwin, and now working couples are struggling to get into the property market.
Senator Hanson wants annual immigration levels capped at 130,000, where it was two decades ago before the mining boom.
'It's time to put Australians first, with affordable housing, fairer tax for families, and a government that backs the people who built this nation,' she said.
'If we want to create a future worth inheriting, we need to act now.'
Labor is promising to build 1.2million homes over five years, or 240,000 a year.
Record-high immigration levels under Labor have worsened Australia's housing affordability crisis, with the median house price in capital cities now above $1million - putting it beyond the reach of an average, full-time worker on $102,742 (pictured is a Sydney auction)
But in the year to May, just 182,894 new homes were approved, new Australian Bureau of Statistics data released this week showed, leading to building activity failing to keep pace with rapid population growth.
Anthony Albanese 's Labor government was re-elected in a landslide with a $16billion plan to slash student debt by 20 per cent, saving a graduate an average of $5,520.
But Senator Hanson said cutting Higher Education Contribution Scheme debt amounted to a form of generational pork barrelling to get the youth vote, along with a government guarantee enabling all first-home buyers to get into the property market with a small, five per cent deposit.
'Labor has bought a lot of the young votes with the HECS debt, so getting rid of that and also propping up their deposit on their house, which I think is going to see a lot of the young ones fall over with that because they've still got to make the repayments too to their debt,' she told Sky News host Caleb Bond.
'Their vote's been bought. People have become so self-centred these days, it's all about me. What is in it for me?'
Hanson said Labor was letting Australians down on key issues, including failing to get an exemption from 50 per cent tariffs on Australian steel and aluminium from Donald Trump.
'First, Albanese gets cold-shouldered by Trump. No real relationship, no respect. Penny Wong flies over for 'diplomacy' and comes back empty-handed. No tariff deals. No progress. Just headlines and handshakes. Australians deserve better,' she said.
'Then there's the so-called green energy transition. Wind farms scrapped. Transmission lines delayed. Farmers ignored. Power bills up 9%, and we're told to just cop it. The real cost of Labor's renewables fantasy? It's paid by households and small businesses.'
She also warned of 'nation within a nation' as a result of the current government, citing Cricket Australia's reluctance to hold Test matches on January 26.
'That's exactly what we're seeing. Division, not unity. Woke politics over common sense.
'While I'm in Parliament, I'll keep pushing back because if we don't stand up now, we risk losing the country we love.
'Cricket Australia, our own national sport, won't play matches on Australia Day. Again. Because they're scared of offending someone.
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