Dear All,
Sir Robert Menzies, founder of the Liberal Party of Australia and Prime Minister of Australia 1939–41 (UAP) and 1949–66 (Liberal) – Left us with a legacy vision.
There is a powerful sentiment in Australian political history: that every Australian should be able to own their own home. While no single speech neatly packages that phrase, parts of Sir Robert Menzies’ “Forgotten People” address — among others — deeply embed the idea that homeownership is fundamental to stability, belonging and dignity.
“The material home represents the concrete expression of the habits of frugality and saving ‘for a home of our own.’ … The home is the foundation of sanity and sobriety; it is the indispensable condition of continuity; its health determines the health of society as a whole.”
— Sir Robert Menzies
While that quote is from his “Forgotten People” broadcasts, that core value—the home as a bedrock of personal and civic life—resonates across his speeches and housing policies.
Please click here to hear part Sir Robert Menzies weekly radio broadcast: https://dl.nfsa.gov.au/clip/forgotspeech/
The Legacy and the Gap
Under Menzies’ governments, several initiatives sought to bring the vision of widespread homeownership closer to reality:
- The Homes Savings Grant (1964) aimed to assist first-home buyers by matching a portion of their savings, encouraging frugality and planning.
- The Housing Loans Insurance Corporation (HLIC) provided government-backed insurance on home loans, reducing the risk to lenders and expanding loan availability. Today, it I commonly known as Lenders Mortgage Insurance or Risk Fee.
- He also renegotiated the Commonwealth-State Housing Agreement so that a share of federal funding supported building societies and private home loans.
These were not handouts so much as “hand ups”—mechanisms designed to bridge gaps that markets and institutions alone struggled to close.
Yet, despite decades of policy efforts, many Australians today face significant headwinds: escalating house prices, high interest rates, stagnant wages, and difficulty building sufficient deposits. The dream of owning a home remains elusive for many.
Re-Coding the Link to Menzies’ Vision
To revisit the spirit of Menzies’ commitment, you can access the text of his “Forgotten People” speech (with the relevant passage about the home) here:
🔗 “The Forgotten People” by Sir Robert Menzies (22 May 1942) Wikipedia
I encourage you (and your networks) to read especially the passages on the home, property, and individual aspiration. That link ensures the vision remains easily reachable and recallable.
Enter AffordAssist: A 21st Century “Hand Up”
To bridge the gap between aspiration and attainment today, we need a modern mechanism—a 21st-century complement to what Menzies began. That’s where AffordAssist comes in.
What is AffordAssist?
AffordAssist is a product designed to help Australians access:
- Deposit supplements / matched contributions — similar in spirit to Menzies’ Homes Savings Grant, but adapted to modern savings and investment vehicles.
- Loan-insurance or guarantee frameworks — reducing risk for lenders to extend higher loan-to-value ratios (LVRs) responsibly.
- Financial education and coaching — helping would-be homebuyers improve credit, budgeting, and savings habits.
- Partnerships with builders, local councils, and developers — to enable access to affordable homes and land through shared-equity or co-investment models.
In essence, AffordAssist is about helping bridge the gaps that too many working Australians face—the gap between rental and deposit, the gap between traditional lending thresholds and new demographics, and the gap between policy intention and real access.
AffotrdAssist Interest-Free Deferred Deposit Solution is A Smarter Alternative to Cash Deposits.
Why This Matters — Then and Now
- Ideals with momentum: Menzies believed that enabling homeownership was not just about roofs and walls—it was about cultivating a society of independent, responsible citizens, anchored in place and purpose.
- Addressing structural inequities: While many Australians have passed through generational property wealth, younger or disadvantaged cohorts are often locked out by cost, credit constraints, or supply shortages.
- Modern tools, new scale: Technology, data analytics, fintech, and public-private collaboration now offer the ability to scale programs like AffordAssist more efficiently than past grant schemes.
- Sustainable support, not welfare: By applying credit discipline, matched savings, and shared risk models, AffordAssist echoes the ethos of past policies—help people help themselves, responsibly.
A Call to Action for Stakeholders
- For policymakers: Consider embedding mechanisms like AffordAssist into broader housing strategies—linking federal, state and local schemes to crowd-in matched contributions or guarantee funds.
- For financial institutions and lenders: Explore partnerships with AffordAssist to share risk in ways that expand lending to creditworthy but underserved segments.
- For builders and developers: Co-develop affordable housing projects tied with equity-sharing or long-term buy-in models.
- For individuals: Learn about and engage with programs like AffordAssist early—save, plan, and explore eligibility.
In Conclusion
Menzies’ vision—that every Australian should be able to stake a claim in their country through property—still holds moral force. But aspirations must translate into structure and scaffolding.
AffordAssist isn’t a panacea, but it is a modern tool for realising a principle that has endured across generations: that home is more than a dwelling—it’s a foundation of belonging, security, and engagement in community and nation.
Regards
AA
B2B – AffordAssist facilitates and oversees the governance process. Are you a mortgage broker, lender, developer, real estate agent, affordable housing advocate, or housing minister? We welcome your collaboration. Join us in our mission to expand access to home ownership. Together, we can make a lasting impact.
Image From National Archives of Australia. Sir Robert Menzies, portrait (c. 1939), National Archives of Australia, public domain. Edited with AI