Labor wants to fix Australia’s housing issues – but there’s little hope for those not already on the ladder

Cheaper loans and Labor’s election housing policy to help first home buyers buy with a smaller deposit will push property prices higher, according to AMP chief economist Shane Oliver. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images

Days after Labor won a decisive victory with a mandate to fix housing affordability, those in charge of handing out mortgages poured cold water on it coming to pass.

Andrew Irvine, the chief executive of National Australia Bank, said the country “may not get the outcome we want” as the gulf between homeowners and everybody else threatens to expand in the coming months.