Sarah Witty (Melbourne, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about Australia's housing crisis and the action this government is taking to combat it. We are building more homes, supporting renters and investing in social and affordable housing at a scale not seen in decades. This progress is making a real difference in everyday lives, because every house built by this government is proof that progress is not just possible, it is happening.

That progress matters, because housing is now a life-defining challenge for so many Australians. People are working hard and doing everything right. Still, they have not been able to find a place to call home. Young people line up around the block for rental inspections. Families who once would have owned a home now find themselves in long-term rentals. Parents tell me that they cannot give their children the stable home that they grew up in.

The Albanese Labor government understands how hard this is. We have a $43 billion housing agenda that is tackling the crisis from every angle. The Commonwealth is no longer a bystander in this challenge, and we are the most ambitious government on housing since the post-war period.

At the centre of this work is building more homes. More homes mean more affordability for everyone. Through the National Housing Accord, we are working with the states and territories, councils and industry. The goal is 1.2 million new homes by 2029. We are cutting red tape, training more tradies and delivering the infrastructure to unlock supply. The Albanese government is directly supporting the delivery of 55,000 social and affordable homes. The Housing Australia Future Fund, the HAFF, is driving that work. It is funding homes for people who have been locked out of the market through no fault of their own. It supports the nurses, teachers and key workers who hold our community together, helping them live near the people they care for and close to the places where their work changes lives. In Victoria, federal investment supports the Big Housing Build, and, in my electorate of Melbourne, projects in Carlton and Fitzroy are replacing outdated housing with modern, secure homes.

Labor is backing homebuyers. The five per cent deposit scheme began on 1 October. It was delivered months ahead of schedule, and now first home buyers are cutting years off the time it takes to save a deposit and avoiding paying mortgage insurance. We are also rolling out Help to Buy to help low- and middle-income earners purchase a home with a smaller deposit and a smaller mortgage. The government has delivered the largest increase to Commonwealth rent assistance in 30 years, a rise of more than 40 per cent since returning to government in 2022. This is real relief for more than half-a-million households.

Social and affordable housing is at the heart of our government's plan. Affordable housing gives people on modest incomes a chance to build a life without sacrificing everything else. Social housing provides safety for those in greatest need. It supports women and children leaving domestic violence. It protects older women, the fastest-growing group at risk of homelessness. The only real answer to homelessness is housing.

Across Victoria, demand remains high. More than 63,000 applicants sit on the social housing register. Every new home built under the HAFF is another family with stability, another child with space to grow, another community made stronger. In Melbourne I see the impact every day. My work is to make sure new developments include social and affordable homes. This is work that means a great deal to me. Before entering parliament I helped to raise a pipeline of more than $110 million through the Homes for Homes model, creating real pathways to safe and secure housing for more Australians.

The next phase of this plan will keep building on that progress. We will expand the HAFF pipeline, we will strengthen renters' protections through a national rental framework, and we will continue to grow social and affordable housing each year. The goal is simple: every Australia deserves a safe, secure, affordable place to call home. Behind every policy, every number, every brick, there is a person waiting for a key. Our job is to make sure they get it.

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