The Australian government has announced that it will extend the quota of the current home guarantee scheme to 50,000 places a year in the 2022‑23 budget to help more people own their homes sooner. The Australian housing industry has welcomed the federal government’s decision, saying this would help change the lives of thousands of people. The scheme enables first home buyers to enter the housing market with a deposit as low as five percent and has supported 60,000 Australians so far. According to Finance Minister Simon Birmingham, the federal government’s retirement income review indicated that homeownership was the most significant thing for people’s safety and security when they retired. “So helping people to get into homeownership as soon as possible is one of the best things any government can do to provide economic security right throughout their life into retirement years,” he told reporters in Canberra. The 50,000 places announced …