Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise in support of Appropriation Bill (No. 1) 2026-2027, Appropriation Bill (No. 2) 2026-2027 and Appropriation (Parliamentary Departments) Bill (No. 1) 2026-2027 because they're not simply legislative measures; these are commitments to fund new initiatives, to strengthen existing programs and to deliver real support for those who need it and where Australians need it the most. The measures in this budget are to help Australians in every way possible, especially the ones who have been missing out for a number of years.

At the moment, this year, unexpectedly, there's a war in the Middle East. It's a war that no-one was expecting, it's a war that has put a stop to a lot of the world's oil trade, and it's pushing up prices. We have no control over it, and there'd be no control if the others were in government either. They can say and do as they like whilst they're in opposition, but the reality is that this war is pushing up prices not just here in Australia but all around the world. If you read international papers—I like to see what's going on around the world—it's copy and paste pretty well everywhere in Europe, the United States and other nations around the world because of this war and because of the lack of control that we have over it. But there are things that have been put in place and measures that this Albanese Labor government has taken on board to make it easier.

We know that Australians are doing it tough at the moment. We know there are a lot of people out there who are working very hard to make ends meet, and we know that there are people out there that are doing their very best just to survive. That's why it is imperative that this budget, which was announced last week, goes through the House of Representatives and the Senate to ensure that it is focused on and targets those people that need it the most. In the budget, we heard that there's more housing—it's a fairer budget to try and bring to fruition for those who have missed out for a number of years the Australian dream of purchasing a home.

Last weekend, and the weekend before, in this country, for the very first time in many years—in fact, in decades—young people, young couples and single people, attended auctions and bid for houses that they were previously unable to bid for because big investors were quite happy to go the extra $50,000, $100,000 or even $150,000 because they knew that they could save that money in their tax returns because of the measures that we had in place. So, for the very first time in decades, last weekend, we saw young people being able to be part of that auction bid to purchase their own homes, and we saw reports in the media on Sunday and again today of young couples that actually purchased their homes. There are also tax cuts in the budget. There's a $250 tax offset for workers—and of course the $2,616 average across the nation, which works out to about $5,054 per week.

There's also $25 billion for public hospitals—on top of the Medicare urgent care clinics around the country. Everywhere you look, there's an urgent care clinic. Just in my area of Adelaide, we have the Norwood urgent care clinic, which is servicing many, many patients; we have the Albert Park care clinic on the western borders of the Adelaide electorate; and, on the northern borders of Gepps Cross, on Grand Junction Road, there is another urgent care clinic. They are all servicing people that need a doctor and that would normally end up in the emergency rooms waiting for hours and hours. Together, our housing reforms, our cheaper medicine and our bulk-billing rates that are going upwards—today there was a report of an increase of four per cent in bulk-billing—are measures to help battling Australians that are doing it tough.

There's been also much work in the electorate of Adelaide. In the budget, millions of dollars have been announced for infrastructure. Of course, without infrastructure—without money being spent on bridges, on roads, on crossings—we'd have a quagmire of traffic and a quagmire of people not being able to get from point A to point B. We'd have a quagmire of transport in people not being able to get quickly enough to railway yards, to ports et cetera. These are important investments. It's not just funding on paper. It's investment for our communities making our communities more productive and able to enjoy the benefits—to do it a little bit easier than what they have in the past. This is an investment into our communities, our infrastructure and our future.

At the heart of the budget is a recognition of one of the defining challenges of our time, and that is housing. I mentioned at the beginning of my speech how important it is. The budget delivers $2 billion for a new stream of housing support programs designed to help local governments and state utility providers deliver the infrastructure needed to support new housing. In other words, when new housing goes up, we need infrastructure and also other support structures for that new housing. We know that homes do not exist in isolation. They require a whole range of infrastructure around them for that particular community. They require roads, water, electricity and services to make them liveable. For South Australia, this means more than $130 million in funding that will unlock projects that would otherwise remain stalled. In my electorate, this investment is already making a real difference.

In the electorate of Adelaide, some of the works are taking place. Only last week I was at the North-South Corridor, which is going from the most northern suburbs to the southern suburbs. It cuts right through my electorate through South Road. We went down and saw the new cutter, which is digging the underground tunnels for motor vehicles that will be going underground from about Torrensville and West Hindmarsh in my electorate right through to Kurralta Park, where they'll be coming back up onto the surface. We saw the cutter being lowered into the ground. It's millions of dollars of work.

Also, by having the tunnels, we save a whole range of heritage listed buildings that are in my electorate, like the Queen of Angels Church, which is nearly 160 years old; the Thebarton Theatre, which is one of Australia's oldest theatres; and, of course, a whole range of schools, businesses et cetera. I'm very pleased that there was a decision made. The original decision wasn't to have tunnels, but, through an outcry from the residents and a campaign from all the residents in those suburbs of Mile End, Richmond, Torrensville, Hilton and West Hindmarsh, the previous government saw fit to work with the state government and ensure we have a tunnel, and that tunnel is taking place right now.

We've seen other works in my electorate on Sir Donald Bradman Drive and Marion Road in the West Torrens council area. We now see slipways. Sir Donald Bradman Drive is the main road that goes off into the airport that has thousands and thousands of motor vehicles, and with those slipways now it's become quicker and more convenient and there's more of a better traffic flow. Another bottleneck that was there for many, many years was on East Avenue, Grange Road and Holbrooks Road at Allenby Gardens, right on the border of Flinders Park. That's coming to fruition and nearly completed and, again, seeing the freeing up of transport. People are saving up to 10 minutes in the morning and 10 minutes in the afternoon. That's 20 minutes a day. Times that by five and that's a good hour and a half that could be spent with family instead of traffic.

One of the great things that I've campaigned on for a long, long time—since I was first elected in 2004—is for the overpass of the tram on Marion Road at Plympton. Once those shutters came down and the bells started ringing when a tram was going by, it would bank up for nearly a couple of kilometres at peak hour traffic. Now we've got an overpass over Marion Road allowing the traffic on Marion Road to free itself up.

There's also community infrastructure in my electorate, Karkungka reserve, where the National Servicemen’s RSL Sub-Branch is. They're getting brand new headquarters there for their activities and also for community use. The entire park is being rejuvenated with money from the federal government and the West Torrens local government. One of the great infrastructure community projects is the Western Youth Centre at Cowandilla, which I'm very proud of. Many sporting clubs affiliated with it use the grounds and the gymnasiums that are there.

The budget is important, as I said, especially for housing. I think housing is what we heard the other night is the government's focus—ensuring that people have a roof over their heads, that people can find premises and live the Australian dream as many have done. It was getting out of touch for a lot of people. You look back at the last 10 years, and there were no policies. There was nothing being instigated. In fact—I said it earlier today in this place—I was here when questions were being asked by the then Labor opposition about housing. I clearly recall the coalition government at the time saying: 'This really has nothing to do with us. It's a state issue.' In other words, they were wiping their hands of it. Therefore, there was inaction for well over 10 years and we're in the position that we're in today.

Those on the other side will try and say that it's migration and a whole range of things. The reality is that this country has always had migration, right through the turn of the century, back in the 1700s—right through. There's been constant migration, and we've managed to keep up. The reality is that we need more houses, and this government is acting to do so. When you think of migration—I think the intake last year was about 300,000. There were about 178,000 homes that were built. Do you think that each and every one of them requires one house? In fact, the majority of them are in student accommodation and don't get their visas unless they have accommodation before they get here. The furphy about immigration and housing—I just don't buy it.

Certainly, we need to keep an eye on it and ensure that we are keeping stock up with the growth of the population, and that's what hasn't been done for over 20 years. That's what hasn't been done and needs to be done. As I said, there was inaction for many, many years. I pointed out a few infrastructure projects and investments in my electorate that are already making a real difference. In fact, the HAFF and other programs that the Prime Minister has announced are making a huge difference. Just in my electorate, 918 new social and affordable homes are currently being built, are on the way to being built or have been completed. That's just my electorate. That's all through the Housing Australia Future Fund. Another 508 homes will be delivered very soon. These are homes that will provide security, dignity and stability for Australians who need it most.

When you speak to people who have secured one of these homes or have purchased their first home through the five per cent deposit scheme or through the equity program with the government, you can see the joy that they have that one of the steps in their lives has been completed. If you don't have a roof over your head, if you don't have shelter, it's very hard to concentrate on other things. Last week, when the Prime Minister was in my electorate and we visited the prospect project in the northern part of my electorate—where over 200 homes are being built and some have already been completed—we spoke to a young couple, Erin and Harry, who had purchased their very first home. You could see how it turned their entire lives around to have that security and stability that is required to go on and achieve bigger and better things. These policies are making a difference, and these homes will provide security, dignity and stability.

Through the Social Housing Accelerator program, another 133 social homes are being built just in my electorate of Adelaide. These are not just numbers; these are lives that are being turned around. These are lives that are changing because of the fact that they can now get a roof over their head. This could be a parent who can finally provide stability for their family. It could be an older Australian who will now be able to age with dignity or a young person given their first chance to build independence. A roof over someone's head is not a privilege. It is a basic human need. (Time expired)

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