Julie Collins (Franklin, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Small Business) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Indi for her question. The member for Indi and I have had many conversations about how important it is to make sure that regional Australia does get its fair share of housing. Whether they be regional towns, regional centres or regional cities, we hear very frequently that there are housing shortages, and it is particularly impacting businesses that can get workers, because there's nowhere for them to live, and particularly key workers in essential services—nurses, doctors, police. They have nowhere to live in these regional towns. So we understand how critical it is. Indeed, we understand how critical it is across the country but particularly in those regional towns with the impact it's having. That's why, of course, we brought forward our Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee. I'm pleased to update the member that 9,000 people in regional Australia have now bought their first home because we brought forward that program. We now have over 9,000 Australians in their own home because of that.

I also want to reassure the member that, when it comes to the Housing Accord, the 10,000 affordable homes that the Commonwealth are committed to, we have taken steps to ensure that each state and territory and, indeed, regional and rural Australia gets its fair share of homes from the Housing Accord.

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