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

What a pleasure to get this question from the wonderful member for Bonner. She is so passionate about housing and, particularly, about making sure that we have proper supports in place for women and children fleeing family violence. It's been an absolute pleasure to work with her in the time that she's been in the parliament.

Our national housing challenge is affecting the lives of many people around our country. Australians are doing everything right. They're saving up, they're planning for the future and they're thinking in advance. Yet they still reach a point—often much later in their lives than we would like—where they're not able to get that foothold in the housing market that they deserve. It is for those families that our government has built the boldest and most ambitious agenda a Commonwealth government has had on housing since the postwar period. We have got a long way to go on this, but, by God, we are making progress: 570,000 homes built since we came to office, 6,000 social and affordable homes completed and 24,000 in planning or construction today. Every single renter in our country has improved rental standards because of the leadership of our prime minister. We've got hundreds of thousands of Australians out of renting and into their first home.

And we're seeing approvals turn a corner, up seven per cent year on year. I'm asked about alternative approaches. Opposite us sit three right-wing parties: the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation. They say that they have differences. But—I can tell you—when it comes to housing, they look all the same to me. They say that they care. They say they care about supplies—

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