by Philip Salama-West
Berwick’s Beaconhills College was the setting on Monday for the filming of a politically charged election special of ABC’s Q+A.
In an auditorium packed with local residents from Berwick and the surrounding areas, panellists were faced with a number of the struggles currently facing Australians.
From a renter facing the prospect of never being able to enter the property market, a homeowner struggling with multiple jobs to pay the mortgage, a pensioner lamenting that increases to their pension are failing to keep up with the cost of living, and a small business owner stressing over the strains of staying afloat.
The show’s panel consisted of the Minister for Housing and Homelessness Clare O’Neil, Shadow Minister for Social Services, NDIS, Housing and Homelessness Michael Sukkar, Melbourne Deputy Lord Mayor Roshena Campbell, the MP for Warringah Zali Stegall, and Executive Director for the Australia Institute Richard Denniss.
O’Neil and Sukkar were eager to emphasise the newly announced housing policies of their parties, both focused on opening up the housing market to prospective first home buyers.
Panellists faced a widespread lack of faith that either party would be able to effectively combat the effects of the housing crisis.
One audience member stated to O’Neil and Sukkar that “billions and billions of dollars are being invested in fixing a housing crisis that I think most Australians probably agree neither of you are going to actually fix”.
When asked by host Patricia Karvelas, the majority of the audience indicated that they agreed.
Meanwhile, audience members voiced concern over low wage growth amidst the cost of living crisis, with one member of the audience noting that while his costs for essentials like insurance had increased by over 30 per cent since the last election, his wages had only increased by seven per cent.
“It doesn’t take a mathematical genius or an economist to see that I’ve gone backwards in real terms.”
Another hotly contested issue was government spending, with Sukkar claiming that Labor is heavily overspending, while Richard Deniss suggested that budgetary woes could be alleviated by increasing taxes on the mining, oil and natural gas industries.
Monday’s show displays just how important the issues of cost of living, wage growth and housing affordability are to local residents in the 2025 election.
