Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Swan for her question. Our government is funding the build of 500 social and affordable homes in her electorate alone, and next week she is turning the sod on the beginning of construction of 170 of those homes. It's going to be a great day for Swan.

We've got a national housing challenge that's been building for decades, and, for some Australians, the stakes here could not be higher. Whether we're thinking about pensioners who are at risk of homelessness, women and children who are fleeing family violence or young families who might be being pushed from unaffordable rental to unaffordable rental, housing for these people in our community is a matter of safety and it's a matter of security. That is why building social and affordable housing is right at the heart of our government's housing agenda. We are building 55,000 social and affordable homes in every corner of our country. Every single one of those homes will change the life of an Australian and their family.

It is self-evidently obvious that our country needs to be building more social housing, so you would think that our government's initiatives would have bipartisan support. Unfortunately, what we have seen from the coalition is that every single opportunity has been taken to delay and block the building of desperately needed housing. It is shameful, but maybe we shouldn't be surprised, because this is perfectly consistent with what we saw the coalition do during the wasted decade. Remember those nine years? For most of that period, they couldn't even be bothered having a housing minister, and, unbelievably, they built 373 homes over nine years. We're building 55,000.

The shadow Treasurer has been unusually open about his personal views on social housing, and I want to share those with the parliament. He has said, 'Our real objective should not be to build more social housing.' He went on to say that his view is that social housing 'suffocates the spirit of entrepreneurialism'. I know—I read that and I couldn't quite believe it. I don't think I have ever heard a more snobbish comment in my entire life. I stand next to a prime minister who is proof of what social housing can do. Social housing gave him and his family safety, security and a platform from which he went on to lead our country, and every person on our side of the chamber is damn proud of that. This is what those opposite don't understand: social housing doesn't suffocate ambition; it gives people a platform on which to grow. When Australians are doing it tough, Labor does not turn its back. We build more housing; we protect the vulnerable, and we will not stop until every person in this country who deserves safe housing has got access to it.

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