Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison attends the third leaders' debate at the Seven Network Studios during the 2022 federal election campaign, in Sydney, Australia May 11, 2022. Mick Tsikas/Pool via REUTERS

May 15 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a housing policy on Sunday aimed at boosting home ownership and curbing high prices, as his government lags the opposition Labor Party days before a general election.

Australians will vote for a government on Saturday, with recent polls showing Morrison's Liberal-National coalition on track to lose to centre-left Labor, which would end nine years of conservative government. read more

Morrison's Liberal Party formally launched its campaign in Brisbane on Sunday, with Morrison detailing the housing policy at the event in a last-ditch appeal to voters.

“This will increase the opportunity for people to downsize, and increase the supply of family housing stock in the market,” Morrison said.

The policy aims to encourage older Australians to sell the family property, Morrison said. It would enable those aged over 55 to sell a home and invest up to A$300,000 ($200,000) in a superannuation fund outside existing caps.

The policy is an effort to put downward pressure on high house prices in an election campaign that has been dominated by cost-of-living concerns, national security and climate change.

Morrison said a re-elected coalition government would allow first home buyers to use a "responsible portion" of their superannuation savings to buy a house, calling it a "a game changer" for thousands of families.

The campaign launch comes after Morrison vowed on Saturday to be more empathetic if he wins re-election, after conceding he could be a "bulldozer" and promising to change. read more

Labor leader Anthony Albanese backed the housing initiative for older Australians, describing it as a "modest announcement".

But the opposition criticised the first home buyer proposal, with Labor campaign spokesperson Jason Clare saying it would lead to even higher house prices.

Labor said that if it won government it would spend A$1 billion on advanced manufacturing to boost jobs and diversify the country's industrial base.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Australia's seven-time world champ Stephanie Gilmore won the first Surf City El Salvador Pro on Friday, coming from behind to style her way to victory over Californian Lakey Peterson in the final.

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology.

The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs.

The industry leader for online information for tax, accounting and finance professionals.

Access unmatched financial data, news and content in a highly-customised workflow experience on desktop, web and mobile.

Browse an unrivalled portfolio of real-time and historical market data and insights from worldwide sources and experts.

Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks.

All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays.