For years, Australians have been losing trust in politicians to deal with our biggest challenges and act in the interests of the people who elected them.
Many wonder why. New figures on the finances of MPs help explain it.
This week we learned seven out of every 10 federal MPs owns two or more homes. Some have as many as seven. That means MPs across the political spectrum are bringing in tens of thousands of dollars in tax benefits, paid for by the taxpayer, every year. Almost no federal MPs are renters. Just six have confirmed they rent - and several of them still manage to own an investment property.
Compare that with the experience of most ordinary Australians. One in three Australians rent, and many of those renters will never own a home. Millions of others are struggling to keep up with cost of the home they already have, much less buy a second or third.
If you're wondering how we ended up with a political class so out of touch with the rest of us, it's all to do with how the government has chosen to provide housing. There was once a time when the government built homes itself and made sure they got to the people who needed them. Around one in three renters used to have the government as a landlord, and at its peak, one in four new homes was built by the government.
Over the past few decades, that approach has flipped. Instead of building homes itself, the government now spends billions propping up the private market and hobby landlords. These landlords can make big profits when it comes time to sell, and that profit is made even bigger by generous tax discounts that were introduced in the nineties.
In the meantime, landlords can write off their expenses on tax. That means the rest of are underwriting their costs on things like rates and interest repayments while the value of their investment grows.
It also means the government is spending record amounts on policies that push up the cost of housing and make the wealthy even wealthier. The latest report from Everybody's Home estimates taxpayers will spend more than $150 billion over the coming decade to push up housing costs and line the pockets of investors. Others think that number could be even higher.
Some will say this shows our housing system is broken. I disagree. This is Australia's housing system working exactly the way it was designed to work, pumping billions of dollars into the private market and hurting average Australians in the process.
This is the system the government has chosen, and the system many MPs are benefiting from personally.
Think about that next time you hear a representative trumpet their background in public housing or growing up in a modest rental. Chances are that same representative is now a landlord - and you and I are propping up their bottom line.
Australians need to be able to trust their representatives are looking out for them, not just protecting their privilege.
As long as the government refuses to change this system and end these handouts, the housing crisis will worsen.
Those who have been locked out of housing will keep losing trust in the people who ought to be leading us out of it.
- Maiy Azize is the national spokesperson for housing and homelessness organisation Everybody's Home.
