Federal election 2025: Peter Dutton says parental wealth shouldn’t be key to home ownership

Peter Dutton says he doesn’t want parental wealth to be the deciding factor for young Australians getting into the property market but failed to rule out if he’d allow his kids to tap into the bank of mum and dad.

The Opposition leader’s son Harry Dutton fronted cameras on Monday in a rare appearance on the campaign trail to share his ambition of home ownership.

The family affair came as Mr Dutton began the work of selling Coalition’s newly announced first-home buyer scheme which allows first home buyers to deduct mortgage payments from their taxes.

Stepping up to the microphone during a press conference in the Brisbane seat of Ryan, Mr Dutton Jnr said he was among the young Aussies who didn’t see home ownership in their future.

“I am saving up for a house and so is my sister. But as you probably heard, it’s almost impossible to get in — in the current state,” he said.

“So I mean we’re saving like mad, but it doesn’t look like we’ll get there in the near future. But we’d love that.”

The 20-year-old is an apprentice carpenter, following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Bruce Dutton, who worked in construction.

Mr Dutton later skipped over questions whether he would give his children a hand out to buy their first homes.

“I don’t want to be accepting a situation where only mums and dads who can afford to give their kids help,” he said.

“Young Australians are putting off having kids at the moment because they can’t afford rent under Labor and they can’t afford to save for a house under Labor.

“Older Australians — who have done nothing more than just worked hard (and) saved hard for their own retirement — thought they may be (able to) give their kids a bit of a hand, $10,000 or $20,000 . . . when they’re buying a house.

“They’re now putting off their retirement so they can stay working for longer to try to get a bit of money to help their kids with a deposit or maybe the monthly repayments.

“That’s what Mr Albanese has created — a huge mess.”

The Coalition have also proposed a plan which would let first-home buyers use up to $50,000 of their superannuation for a home deposit and allow them to claim tax deductions on interest for mortgages up to $650,000 on newly built homes for five years.

Mr Dutton has reportedly had a whopping property portfolio totalling $30 million in a real estate history which stretches back 35 years to when he bought his first house as a 19-year-old.

He has, however, defended his investments as legitimate and transparent, which came about through hard work with his father.

Mr Dutton has previously joked about charging his son rent now that he’s earning money as a carpentry apprentice, most recently during the first leaders’ debate at the Sky News western Sydney people’s forum.

“He’s got a boost in his pay, which means he can start to pay some board at home… I’m not holding my breath for that, but I’ll see,” he joked in Dickson last month.