Key senator says housing a state issue

A crossbench senator can't understand why the federal government has made housing affordability its problem when it is the states that can levy things such as stamp duty and land tax and allow land release.

The past week has seen the government openly debating issues among itself, like allowing young people to access their superannuation to help build a home deposit.

"Why the hell is there a debate at all concerning the federal government? The levers that the federal government has at its disposal really aren't all that useful in terms of housing affordability," Liberal Democratic senator David Leyonhjelm told Sky News on Sunday.