My word | A place to call home

So we’ve had tax cuts, Medicare tinkering and Queensland road upgrades, with large dollops of obligatory sledging and fear mongering.

It seems waiting until halfway through an election campaign to announce any serious policy framework is now standard political behaviour.

So finally, we have something to get our teeth into – housing.

Labor and Coalition policies announced this week, targeting young and first time home buyers, are undoubtedly a reflection of the changing age demographic in Australia.

For the first time, Millennial and Gen Z voters aged from 18 to 38, outnumber baby boomers. Conservatives beware — as the boomers fade away, they will take with them their rusted-on voting patterns and entrenched attitudes towards gender, inclusion and climate.

The march of the generations may even signal hope that Nichols will shake off its rusty shackles and join the growing ranks of progressive independents — but not yet.

The bolts of tradition are still too strong.

Anyway, back to housing.

Having somewhere affordable to call home must be at the heart of any developed country’s living standards.

Australia’s housing crisis and the situation has been left to drift with no major policy ideas for decades.

Increasing house prices have locked out young people and anyone living on the average income from owning their own space in the world.

Both major parties have come up with plans to lift young people out of this malaise, but their ideas are, as always, election sugar hits. What requires long-term planning and co-operation turns into a contest for power.

The Coalition’s plan to allow people to withdraw up to $50,000 from superannuation is particularly dangerous for anyone hoping to retire with their own healthy nest egg.

Deducting mortgage interest payments from income tax only helps those who already have a mortgage.

Labor’s promise of helping young people step on to the property ladder with just a five per cent deposit and a government guarantee for a portion of the loan sounds better.

However, according to the inevitable experts, a surge in young people with big deposits will only drive up prices because supply is limited.

It all comes down to supply – there are just not enough homes for young people to buy.

Labor has promised $10 billion, while the Coalition has promised $5 billion to build new homes.

This all depends on having enough qualified workers, strong supply chains and reduced wait times for zoning and planning approvals which are under state control.

No wonder Australia’s housing problem is such a tangled web of knots.

But it’s worth keeping your eye on the prize, and surely the prize is having somewhere you can call home.

In Nordic countries there is a concept called “hygge” or “hugg”, which says that home is somewhere safe and comfortable, a place to surround yourself with familiar things, put down roots and where your heart can live and breathe.

Consequently, governments place a priority on providing long-term quality housing to provide stability and a safety net for lower income people, or for anyone who wants to rent rather than buy.

In Sweden, almost 20 per cent of people live in public housing maintained by local councils.

Finland solved its homelessness problem by offering free homes to people struggling with poverty, addiction and mental health problems, so they have a base from which to get their lives back together.

In Australia, you have to get your life together before you can get a home.

In other words, a home is more than an investment to be bought and sold like shares or cars.

A safe home, untouched by market frenzies and private speculation, is the bedrock of any decent, egalitarian society.