The federal government has identified a number of legislative priorities when Parliament resumes on 14 October. However, analysis suggests that the Coalition may lack the numbers to pass up to seven out of eight bills in the Senate, including the Ensuring Integrity Bill and a religious discrimination bill. The proposed first-home loan deposit scheme is the only government initiative that appears to have sufficient support in both houses at present, after Labor agreed to back the bill. From The Australian:
Despite the Coalition holding four more Senate seats in the new parliament and the crossbench shrinking from 10 senators to six, the first-home loan deposit scheme to help young Australians get into the housing market sooner is the only government bill with the numbers to pass both houses.
Labor sources said the party would support the bill, which will allow up to 10,000 eligible first-home buyers to purchase a home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent, after backing it in at the election.
