Madonna Jarrett (Brisbane, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm here to talk about housing, because it really is a fundamental human right and we're at a critical point in this nation's history that we need all levels of government working together to build the homes we need for this generation and the next.

When we put up our hands to represent our communities, one of the main goals is to ensure we leave our communities in a better position than when we started, and this starts with making housing more affordable and accessible. Housing really is a life-defining challenge for so many Australians. People are working hard; they are doing the right thing and still they can't get into a home or into a place to call their home.

Young people are outbidding each other for rental properties. Families with kids who would have absolutely owned their own home a generation ago can't get a foothold in the door. We hear from young people who feel they will never have the chance to own a place of their own. We hear it from their parents, who cannot give their kids the stability they got as children. We hear it from renters whose rents are going up too much and too often. And we see women who have fled violent or unworkable domestic situations being left stranded, couch surfing or car sleeping. And we see it in the rising rate of homelessness that is so evident across our suburbs and our region. So no matter what your situation, having a roof over your head is fundamental to how your life will unfold.

In my first speech to this parliament, I spoke about my experience growing up in Brisbane and the importance of this foundation not just to me and my siblings, but to the many foster siblings who shared our home. Our inner-city home was noisy, there is no question about it—there were eight siblings, seven girls and my brother, along with foster kids that came and went. At times, there were mattresses on the floors and sometimes sheets hung for privacy as bedrooms were made to accommodate children needing a safe home. I saw firsthand how having a bed, clean sheets and the safety of a home can be life transforming.

For a long time, the Commonwealth government had tapped out of our nation's housing challenge, leaving the hard work up to the states. Indeed, for the nine years the coalition were last in power, they didn't even have a housing minister. They built just 373 social and affordable homes over that entire period. This crisis wasn't created overnight, and it won't be fixed overnight. Our government understands this, and we are throwing everything at it. We are undertaking the single-biggest housing build since the Second World War. Our $43 billion housing agenda is focused on three things: building more homes better, making it easier to rent and backing first home buyers. We have actually completed more than 500,000 social and affordable homes, and have 25,000 more homes being planned and in the construction phase. This is helping people right across the country—like Karen, who I met during the election campaign. Karen's in her 60s. After fleeing domestic violence around seven or eight years ago, she lived in shared accommodation and then finally got a place of her own. She said to me that she can decorate it as hers, she can leave the dishes until tomorrow if she wants to and she can use the washing machine without checking first. Basically, she can live her life her way.

Since we were elected, more than 180,000 Australians, and counting, have bought their first home with our five per cent deposit scheme. More than one million households have been supported with our 50 per cent increase in rent assistance. We are seeing a real turnaround in homebuilding, with 500,000 homes being built since we came to office, and new housing commitments up 17 per cent compared to the same time last year.

But let's be clear. The job is not done. It's still too hard to build and to buy in this country, and that's what we're focused on. In this term this Labor government will build more homes. We are continuing down the path of building 55,000 social and affordable homes, as well as building 100,000 homes for first home buyers. And we're working towards our bold national aspiration in Australia to build 1.2 million homes in five years. We're making it better to rent, helping thousands more rental homes to get built, and continuing to lift rental standards through our work with the states. We're also implementing Help to Buy, our first national shared equity scheme, and delivering on our five per cent deposit guarantee for every first home buyer.

But we need to keep building, we need to make it easier to build and we need to make it quicker to build. We know there is more to do, and I'm calling on the state LNP government in my state of Queensland to stop playing politics and to build more social and affordable homes. Housing in Queensland is the tightest it's been in more than a decade. Entry level prices for first home buyers have overtaken Sydney. That was hard to imagine, really, even a few years ago. Research shows there's only one month left of apartment supply. The Queensland LNP government needs to stop cancelling affordable and social housing projects, stop selling off public land, stop claiming previous Labor government projects as their own and start helping to build more social and affordable housing.

Let's look at some of the activities that have happened recently. Since coming to government in 2024, the LNP housing policy has been the removal of the 20 per cent social and affordable housing target for developments in the Woolloongabba priority development area, which was located near the Cross River Rail—the perfect place. The Deputy Premier, Jarrod Bleijie, revoked approval of a 90-unit affordable housing project in Birtinya on the Sunshine Coast. With the Noosa social housing project, they scrapped an approved four-storey, 90-unit affordable housing project in Tewantin. With state owned government land developments, the government has pivoted to a 'use it or house it' policy, selling vacant state owned land to the private sector without mandatory quotas for social and affordable homes. At the Olympic village site, the requirements for a percentage of affordable housing have now been removed.

In a major policy shift, the LNP government said that mandating social housing reduces the speed and volume of construction. What a pathetic excuse. Think about what the Queensland Council of Social Services says when they talk about the impact. They've expressed distress over the lack of mandates, stating that without government driven requirements, new housing supply will not benefit low-income households. Last year, the state LNP government reintroduced the 'three strikes' policy for social housing. What it means is that you get evicted after three incidents of disruptive, antisocial or illegal behaviour within 12 months. There is no recourse and nowhere to go. This is a cruel policy that does nothing to help the most vulnerable in our community. Karyn Walsh, chief executive of not-for-profit organisation Micah, said:

I understand the issues that social housing is facing—

and she would know—

but I think there are other ways that we need to be addressing it because it disproportionately is going to affect the most vulnerable in our community.

I say to the people in the Brisbane community that you should demand better out of the state LNP government. Their record, frankly, is shameful. They have abandoned you and they have given up the fight of making housing more affordable in Brisbane. They don't care, frankly, and it's just not good enough. I want to say to the people of Brisbane that this Labor government has your back, and we will keep working hard to tackle the housing challenges you are facing.

Under this Labor government we've made a radical switch. We are tackling the housing crisis from every angle. Our government is the boldest and most ambitious Australian government on housing since the postwar period. We are already delivering, we are taking this seriously and we're seeing real results for many Australians, including in Brisbane. To make a difference, we must work together at all levels of government. We need to find better ways to get on top of the housing challenge. We're doing our bit, and I'm calling on the state government and, frankly, the LNP council to do their bit. We owe it to the next generation of Australians.

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