Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank the member for Canberra for her question. Of course, the Albanese government is turning the tide of 10 years of inaction by those sitting opposite and has begun to deliver our comprehensive housing agenda for Australians. We understand that people are doing it tough, particularly those renting. That's why, in last month's budget, the government invested an extra $2.7 billion to increase Commonwealth rent assistance maximum rates by 15 per cent. This is the largest increase to rent assistance in more than 30 years, and more than one million households will benefit, including pensioners, families, veterans, jobseekers and students.

Also in my portfolio we are building more emergency accommodation for women and children experiencing family and domestic violence. Since we formed government, I have taken steps to ensure the successful delivery of a number of Safe Places projects delivering much-needed crisis accommodation on the ground for women and children escaping family and domestic violence. And we will invest a further $100 million for the Safe Places program, to deliver up to 720 more places nationally for women.

On the weekend, the Prime Minister, along with the Minister for Housing, announced a $2 billion Social Housing Accelerator, and through our Housing Australia Future Fund we have a plan to deliver more than 30,000 new social and affordable homes for Australians who need a safe and affordable place to call home, including 4,000 of those homes for women and children impacted by family and domestic violence and older women who are experiencing homelessness.

This is a very comprehensive plan, and it was disappointing to see the coalition team up with the Greens to block the delivery of homes on the ground. It seems that the Liberals, the Nationals and the Greens would rather play political games than vote to deliver more social and affordable housing to Australians that need it, because voting to delay the Housing Australia Future Fund is standing in the way of delivering more housing stock for Australians who want a safe and affordable place to call home. I need to reinforce that it is only Labor that has a plan to boost Commonwealth rent assistance, to deliver emergency accommodation for women and children escaping domestic violence and to build more social and affordable housing.

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