Youdecide2007 is sparking the national debate on housing affordability. Opposition leader Kevin Rudd yesterday asked a question in the Federal Parliament based on a youdecide2007 interview with member for Herbert, Peter Lindsay.

In the initial interview , by youdecide2007 editor and reporter Jason Wilson, Mr. Lindsay quoted without disagreement claims that the housing affordability crisis was due in part to the "financial illiteracy" of young people.

In question time yesterday, Opposition leader Kevin Rudd yesterday asked the Prime Minister,

"Does the Prime Minister agree with the Member for Herbert when he says that mortgage stress can be blamed on financially illiterate couples and his only advice to them is that they should sit on "milk crates in the lounge room" until they can afford chairs?

"Apart from the milk crate solution, what is your plan to deal with Australia's housing affordability crisis or is it simply to blame the states?

In the initial interview with youdecide2007, when asked how he was addressing the housing affordability crisis in his electorate, Mr Lindsay quoted, and did not dispute the opinions of unnamed mortgage brokers' that some of the blame for the crisis lay with borrowers. 

"I’ve spoken to mortgage brokers about this issue and I say, is there a mortgage crisis?  They say, yes. Why is that so?  And they say because young people today are financially illiterate.  

"They say they decide they’re going to get themselves a home, they go out and they pick something that’s worth $400,000, they then attempt to borrow the entire amount without any deposit, and on top of that, they borrow the money for the plasma TV and the you-beaut sound system and give no thought to what happens if the female partner might want to have a family and they get themselves into strife"

When asked whether he was in fact blaming the borrowers themselves for the crisis, Mr Lindsay replied,
    
"I don’t want to be backed into that corner.  I’m just saying that in years gone by, people were more responsible. 

"They would -- I remember my own case.  We sat on milk crates in the lounge room until we could afford chairs.  We had makeshift shelves to put ornaments on and so on, but you did that in those days. You waited until you could -- you didn’t live beyond your means and you didn’t try to keep up with the Joneses.  Things were more responsible.

Major media outlets, such as the Brisbane Times and the Melbourne Age have now picked up on the story first broken by youdecide2007!

UPDATE 3.10 PM WED 19TH: WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HOUSING AFFORDABILITY? JOIN THE DEBATE!  

UPDATE 2.30 Wed 19th The Sydney Morning Herald is also running with the story. 

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