Julie-Ann Campbell (Moreton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I've got news for the member for Fadden, because, when the member for Fadden talks about the fact that the great Australian dream is being snatched away, those doing the snatching are sitting right opposite. Those doing the snatching are those in the coalition. Those opposite are the ones who have turned that Australian dream into a nightmare. The member for Fadden has to take a cold, hard look at what the coalition has done when it comes to housing. Not only have we seen decades and decades of neglect when it comes to investment in housing, but we've also seen a coalition who talk a big game, bring something to the chamber and then can't look themselves in the eye to see what they've done when it comes to housing policy.

Let's have a look at what we've seen from this coalition not just over a couple of years but over many, many years. In their nine years in government, what did we see? Three hundred and seventy-three homes built in nine years. That is part of not an Australian dream but an Australian nightmare. What did we see? We saw that they didn't even have a housing minister for most of the time that they were in government. That is not part of an Australian dream; that is part of a coalition nightmare. We saw them fail to support free TAFE, and free TAFE is about making sure not only that our young people have cost-of-living relief but also that we are building the trades and skills of the future that we need to build those homes. Failing to support that is not the Australian dream; it is a coalition nightmare.

So, when the member for Fadden gets up here and talks about housing, what we know is that they talk a big game but that when it comes to housing—when it comes to actually fixing the fundamental challenge, which is supply—they have never done anything to make a real difference. In fact, when we look at what the coalition's track record is on housing, we see that it has only ever acted to make housing less affordable—less affordable for the young people in my electorate who are worried that they will never own a home, and less affordable for those parents with adult children who are worried that the kids will not be able to get that Australian dream and build a future with a home.

On 31 October, just a few days ago, one of the members of my local team, Kane, and his partner, Jaxen, bought their first home, and do you know how they bought their first home? They put down a five per cent deposit. Within one month of a Labor policy coming to fruition to allow first home owners to put down a five per cent deposit to own their own home, they were able to do that. Kane and Jaxen were like many other young people who had been scrimping and saving to put together that 20 per cent, and they couldn't do it, but then Labor introduced a five per cent deposit for first home buyers. That is the difference when we talk about what we've seen from across the chamber and what we've seen from Labor.

Home is symbolic of security, it's symbolic of safety and it's symbolic of stability, but it's also something very tangible. It's the Colorbond roof on the bricks and mortar or the VJs of an old Queenslander. Home is important because it helps us build for the future; it helps us plan. We talk about five per cent deposits. What five per cent deposits do is get people into their first homes. Five per cent deposits also mean people are not contributing to someone else's mortgage; they're contributing to their own.

What have we seen when it comes to Labor? We've seen half a million homes built since Labor was elected, compared to a measly 373 homes over nine years from those opposite. And we are on our way to delivering 1.2 million homes, an ambitious target that will help make houses more affordable. We've seen the future fund delivering more than 55,000 social and affordable homes. We are training more tradies who have the skills to build more homes. The member for Fadden talks about being passionate about that great Australian dream. If he want to do something, if he wants to deliver on housing affordability, he better come over to this side of the chamber, because that's where the business gets done.

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