Treasurer Joe Hockey has hit back at Labor after the opposition ridiculed him for sparking debate about allowing first home buyers to dip into their superannuation for a deposit.
It was actually Paul Keating who first suggested the idea, he told parliament on Monday.
Labor had attempted to wedge Mr Hockey on the issue, asking him to respond to a number of past and present high-profile politicians who oppose the idea.
They included his cabinet colleagues Mathias Cormann and Malcolm Turnbull, former Liberal treasurer Peter Costello and Peter Collins - Mr Hockey's one-time boss and a former NSW Liberal leader.
The treasurer was undeterred, saying cursory research had revealed that it was actually Mr Keating - a former Labor prime minister - who first proposed the idea.
In a 1993 election campaign speech Mr Keating said young Australians should be able to use their superannuation to purchase their first home, Mr Hockey said.
"I will tell you what, there's a lot of hypocrisy in this debate."
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