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

I move:

That this House notes that:

(1) the Government is delivering a further $2 billion of investment in infrastructure to enable new housing, and that this brings the Government's total investments in housing-enabling infrastructure to $6.3 billion;

(2) this total investment is more than 50 times what the Opposition invested in housing-enabling infrastructure after over almost a decade in office;

(3) this new funding lifts the Government's housing investment to $47 billion; and

(4) the Government is delivering 55,000 social and affordable homes, nearly 150 times what the Opposition built during its time in Government.

I'm quite proud to be standing here today to speak about a very important motion, and that is the motion to tell the government that what we're doing is in the right direction, delivering a further $2 billion of investment in infrastructure to enable new housing. I do so because, when we think of a person's life, one of the most stable things in anyone's life is having a roof over your head. First, there's the need to be able to sustain yourself through food and, secondly, is shelter. That gives you stability. If you don't have that shelter and that roof over your head, then getting a job, having a stable family et cetera can be very difficult. Therefore, I'm very proud of Labor's position and Labor's policy on housing.

Earlier last week, the Prime Minister visited my electorate to see first-hand the progress that's being made in the construction area of housing in the suburb of Prospect. It's called Prospect Corner. This is an $80 million, 208 home, urban renewal project which is in Prospect. These are the type of projects that are making real differences to people's lives, real differences that are turning their lives around at that. At that site we saw a young couple, Erin and Harry, who had just purchased their first home using the affordable rental program to save up for that deposit and to get affordable housing in this area, which is close to transport and close to all the services. It was just incredible to see this young couple have the ability, through the Housing Australia Future Fund, to purchase at this price and to hear them talk about the joy and the stability that they had in their life.

The government has provided, through HAFF, funding billions of dollars, five per cent deposit schemes, shared equity and a massive build that's taking place right now all around Australia to ensure that we have housing stock so people can access that important thing that I said: shelter and a roof over their head, which is the No. 1 issue when it comes to stability. Just in my electorate of Adelaide, for example, there are currently 918 new homes that are being built or have already been built. I'm very proud of it. Week by week, I visit many of these construction sites, and it is so important.

As I said, this is an $80 million project in my electorate for 208 homes, and importantly it stands as one of the first developments in the country. In fact, we visited with the Prime Minister back in May last year, before the election, when the foundations were being built for this project. It's important that we back these projects through the Housing Australia Future Fund as part of the government's $47 billion homes for Australians plan. What I saw on that visit was not just the construction site. We saw the progress from over a year ago to its final fruition, where we saw this young couple, Erin and Harry, getting their dream home and having a roof over their head and having the stability that every Australian deserves.

What we saw is what is possible when governments work together to deliver housing where Australians need it most, and that's why today I'm very proud to speak on this motion and to move this motion that the government is delivering a further $2 billion in investment in infrastructure to enable new housing, bringing total investment in housing to $6.3 billion. This investment is more than 50 times what was previously invested in in nearly over a decade. I recall clearly being in this very place on that side of the House and seeing people from the front bench asking the then coalition government about housing policy, and I recall clearly the answer coming back—look at Hansard if you want to—saying that it was not the job of the federal government, that it was something that the state Labor governments at the time were responsible for. In other words, they were wiping their hands completely. That's why we're in the mess that we're in today.

I was very proud also on the weekend to see young couples, for the very first time, being able to bid at auctions to purchase a home that was completely out of their reach a few weeks ago because massive investors were coming in and outbidding them.

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