Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I hope it is the case that everybody in this House does believe that every Australian deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. And, if indeed that is the case, I would expect that everyone in this place would vote to support the national housing policies that we've put forward and that we know will make a real difference to people's lives.

Under the previous coalition government we saw the result of neglect of and underinvestment in housing. That's led to a housing affordability crisis in this country. There are a lot of crises that happened on the watch of those opposite, and this one is particularly appalling. Australians, particularly those in regional areas, were struggling to save a sufficient deposit for their first home, and the cost of living was becoming increasingly high. We're taking action to address a lot of the issues that we have inherited.

We brought forward our Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee by three months. That has meant that we have helped more than 2,700 households since its launch in October. Our government guarantee for up to 15 per cent of eligible first home buyers has enabled regional Australians to avoid paying lenders mortgage insurance and to get into their own home sooner. This targeted support is helping regional Australians into homeownership sooner and is assisting with the cost of living. But we're doing so much more than that.

It was really wonderful to be able to connect the Treasurer with the Ashburton, Ashwood and Chadstone partnership group in my electorate of Chisolm. This is a remarkable group comprising public tenant associations, service providers of neighbourhood houses, council representatives and state and federal MPs as well. What this group does is bring people together to have genuine conversations about what people in public and social housing really need. As I said, it was wonderful to be able to connect this group with the Treasurer because, for us as a Labor government, it's important that we listen to the experiences of people in our communities to inform our policies and make sure that the dignity of housing is something that can be offered to every single Australian.

Last month the interim National Housing Supply and Affordability Council met for the first time. The House of Representatives has passed the National Housing Supply and Affordability Council Bill, which will help establish a permanent statutory council later this year. Again, it is really important that we have these kinds of groups set up to advise government and to ensure that we are doing everything we can to deliver housing for every single Australian, because we actually believe that that is a fundamental principle—that everyone in this country has a roof over their head, regardless of how much money they earn.

We're progressing a new national housing accord. This is a shared ambition to build one million new, well-located homes over five years from 2024. This initiative will be supported by $350 million in additional federal funding to deliver 10,000 affordable homes over five years from 2024, which is really exciting. We're widening the remit of the National Housing Infrastructure Facility, making up to $575 million available to invest in social and affordable housing, and developing a new National Housing and Homelessness Plan. We're committed to reducing the cost of buying a home through the help-to-buy program.

There is no doubt that people are really experiencing a lot of pressure when it comes to purchasing a home and even securing a rental. We really understand the importance of taking meaningful action to address these issues. We need to support our country's homelessness services to address these challenges too. I meet with advocates from various different service groups all the time, and supporting them is something I'm really committed to, particularly as we see the increase of need in our communities who access these services.

Through establishing a Housing Australia Future Fund, developing our new National Housing and Homelessness Plan and providing approximately $1.6 billion per year to the states and territories through the National Housing and Homelessness Agreement, we're doing everything we can to ensure that every Australian has a safe and affordable place to call home and is well connected to their community.

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