Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that Australia is facing a housing crisis, with rents and house prices surging, home ownership falling, and more than 640,000 households either homeless or under housing stress;

(2) notes that:

(a) this crisis is severely affecting young people, those on lower incomes and renters, with advertised rents rising over ten per cent across capital cities and many regions; and

(b) the crisis is the result of decades of failed government policy, which has left Australia with one of the lowest number of homes per person in the OECD;

(3) further acknowledges that:

(a) the Government has taken some positive steps but its commitment to building one million new homes by 2030 is insufficient relative to the scale of the crisis; and

(b) without substantial further action, the Australian dream will soon become a nightmare and a generation of young people will forever be locked out of home ownership; and

(4) calls on the Government to:

(a) significantly raise its ambition on increasing housing supply;

(b) work with state governments and local councils to accelerate actions that increase housing and land availability, which will lead to increased home ownership and improved housing affordability; and

(c) provide urgent support to help young people and renters deal with the cost of living pressures created by this crisis.

Australia is facing a housing crisis. We have 640,000 households who are homeless or under housing stress. Rents are rising at over 10 per cent, and we have some of the lowest amounts of housing per person in the OECD. This housing crisis is particularly affecting young Australians, who are facing being locked out of housing forever. The dire situation they face was best summed up by a young man who came to visit my office recently. He told me that he'd studied hard, got a good degree and got a great job in health care, but, despite doing everything right, he's been left with $50,000 worth of HECS debt and sees no prospect of having housing security or ever buying a home. His story isn't unique.

Decades of policy failure from the major parties have created intergenerational tragedy, where young people are getting smashed by rent increases and are locked out of homeownership. In Wentworth, 45 per cent of properties are rentals, and housing is one of the most pressing issues facing our community right now. In recent months I've spoken with nearly 200 residents as part of a series of housing forums and got the view of 500 locals as part of a housing survey. Their feedback was clear. Key workers can't afford to work in the area or close to where they work. There's not enough social housing, and some of what is available is poorly maintained. Most of all, young people cannot afford to buy in the area unless they're lucky enough to be supported by their parents. We need to move to a situation where younger generations can afford to buy and rent without parental support, where we have normalised long-term renting and where there is a mix of housing options available. But we won't get there without urgent action.

To the government's credit, they have taken some positive steps. For months I've been calling on the Labor government to get guarantees from the states that they will deliver on the increased housing targets before being given extra federal funding. I'm pleased that the National Cabinet has taken up this idea and that money from the new home bonus will be performance based. It's also positive to see more provided through the social housing accelerator and a commitment to strengthening renters' rights. But this plan, even if successfully delivered, will only deliver 1.2 million new homes over the next five years, and it isn't clear that it will be able to be delivered. It won't provide relief to renters in the short term. So we need to go further. We need to do more to encourage new housing supply, and we need to do more to support young renters doing it tough.

On supply, we need to consider all weapons in our arsenal to address how house ownership can be an option for all people and how affordable rental can be an option for all people, and that includes considering the tax system. For instance, stamp duty makes it almost impossible for many people to get onto the property ladder, and it stops people who want to from downsizing. In Victoria, a recent parliamentary inquiry found that stamp duty disproportionately hurts divorced women and young people. In New South Wales, a Treasury analysis showed that, if we switched stamp duty for land tax, homeownership would rise by about seven per cent—seven per cent more people whose lives would be transformed by homeownership. But the financial barriers for states to make the switch are real, so the federal government must give them a helping hand. I urge the government to go beyond just stamp duty and to consider other tax reforms, including how to address tax disincentives to building and scaling build-to-rent, because the tax system is an integral player in the housing system and must be on the table.

On renting, we need systematic reforms that actually deliver results, not bandaid solutions that make good sound-bite policy but bad long-term policy.

The evidence is clear that rent freezes reduce the supply of rental accommodation, encourage landlords to preference shorter and less secure tenancies and discourage investment in maintaining homes. We need reforms that work. That starts with supply, but it also means working with tenancies, so I'm pleased that the National Cabinet has agreed to end no-fault eviction and to limit increases of rents to once a year. These issues need to be implemented urgently. But expanded renters' rights shouldn't stop there. We need tenants to have much greater control over the length of their tenancy. We need a better process for ensuring unjustifiable rent increases aren't forced upon renters, and we need strong minimum energy performance standards for rental property so that renters can reduce their power bills. Without urgent action on housing we are sleepwalking into an intergenerational tragedy, and I urge the government to push harder on this issue.

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