Family First Leader Senator Steve Fielding says it’s now game on for who will hold the balance of power in the Senate after Julia Gillard set a date for the election today.

Senator Fielding said he was confident of being re-elected because the public liked the idea of a minor party keeping an eye on both the major parties.

“Family First is the only party which is looking out for families when it comes to housing affordability, childcare and making our streets safe again,” Senator Fielding said.

“People care about the rising cost of living and so far we’ve heard nothing about how Gillard or Abbott is going to ease our housing affordability crisis.

“It’s time we took housing affordability seriously with 70 percent of Generation Y of the belief that they are permanently locked out of the housing market.

“I still believe it’s the great Australian dream to own your home and I think we should be doing all that we can to help people buy a house.”

Family First wants the Government to set up an Accessing Super Scheme, like the Canadian Home Buyers’ Plan, which would allow first home buyers to access $15,000 of their superannuation so they can use it for part of a deposit on a house.

“Housing affordability is a real issue for many young families looking to buy their first home and this type of scheme would give them a massive leg up,” Senator Fielding said.

“Owning your own home is still the Australian dream and the Accessing Super Scheme would keep this dream alive for thousands of families.

“We need to take the pressure off young families trying to enter the housing market and this is a good way to do that.

Under Family First’s proposal, first home buyers would be able to withdraw up to $15,000 from their own super fund which would then be paid back over 15 years interest free.

“Instead of just handing out government grants and causing property prices to skyrocket, this scheme lets first home buyers access more of their own money so they can put it to good use,” Senator Fielding said.

“It’s vitally important when people retire that they own their own home because it gives them extra financial security.”

Taken from Family First Party website.