John Symond is the Aussie Home Loans boss.
He's a nice, agreeable avuncular fellow.
He's done well out of selling money to battlers.
And good on him for that.
But with respect, the Prime Minister could have saved himself an hour or two on Tuesday, meeting with him over John Symond's answer to housing affordability.
Give first home buyers $25,000 in tax breaks over five years on top of the existing $7,000 grant.
So that means they'd get roughly a $400 monthly saving, reducing loan repayments on a $300,000 loan from $1900 to $1500.
What John didn't say was, make it easier to borrow.
And that, as he would say, is good for everyone, including lenders.
And then when they got on top of their mortgage repayments, borrowers would pay back half the benefit over the next five years.
Oh yes, I see the eyebrows raised.
Another $200 a month which you find in five years' time which you didn't have five years ago.
I'm sure John Howard won't touch this with a barge pole.
Easy access to money, independent of affordability and manageability on the housing issue merely jacks up the price of available housing stock and makes it harder for people without a house to get into one.
So John, good try, but if I was the Prime Minister it would go in the bin.
There is one tax answer to the housing issue, and that is make all interest payments on a first home tax deductible.
And make the first home when it's then sold subject to capital gains tax.
No Government will touch that proposal.
But I argue, give the home buyer the money when he needs it, when he's young, getting his foot on the ladder.
Then later on when it's sold at very significant capital gain because house prices are always going up, apply a capital gains tax, and in that way the Government which is us, the taxpayer, gets our money back.
But John Symond, a good proposal for you, John, but not an answer to the housing crisis.