ScoMo’s $250 million air kiss

Right now Parliament House reminds me of a seedy share house I lived in when I was at uni: no one could quite work out who lived there, or where they came from, and everyone was busy screwing each other.

Poor old Malcolm. With the current state of his house, it’s understandable he hasn’t been able to get his housemates together to deliver on the ‘First Home Super Saver Scheme’.

You remember that, don’t you?

It was announced by our Treasurer, Scott Morrison, on Budget night (way back in May) as a $250 million ‘air kiss’ to housing affordability. As ScoMo crowed on the night, “Most first home savers will be able to accelerate their savings by at least 30%”.

And then … everything went quiet.

Yet I’ve been dutifully following it up … like Pauline chasing a burqa. In July, I called Treasury and asked what the hell was going on. It was clear to me that the Government needed a legislative laxative — the scheme was having trouble being passed into law.

“Not correct”, said a spokesperson for the Treasurer.

Before adamantly adding: “The First Home Super Saver Scheme will be passed in the spring session of Parliament”.

Well, on my farm, spring has sprung, and my lambs have been sold at market.

It’s bah-bah for them, and if they can’t get it passed soon, it’ll be bah-bah for the First Home Super Saver Scheme.

So what can you do?

Start saving for a deposit on your own.

And the best way to do this is to set up your Barefoot money buckets, including a ‘Fire Extinguisher’ online saver account, and then start allocating 20% (or more!) of your take-home salary towards getting your deposit.

Sure, it’s not as tax effective as what was on offer on Budget night, but you can start right now — instead of sitting like a lamb waiting for the grass to grow in Canberra.

Chop, chop, ScoMo!

Tread Your Own Path!