Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

This government made a lot of promises during the budget announcement in relation to housing and, specifically, in relation to housing infrastructure. As usual, there was a lot of spin and a lot of one-liners designed to create media headlines. But, when you actually drill down into the details, once again you just see the smoke and mirrors at play.

Firstly, the seemingly impressive $2 billion figure is, in fact, spread over four years, which means that these numbers can be easily reduced with each forthcoming budget as they realise their targets aren't being met as per the modelling and as they attempt to divert our collective attention elsewhere. It wouldn't be the first time that we've heard, 'Priorities have changed,' or, 'We've changed our position.' In reality, what it means is that this government has committed just $262 million over the next financial year. That effectively makes them accountable for just 13 per cent of the promise before the next election. And, after saying for the 50th time, Prime Minister, that there would be no negative-gearing changes or capital-gains taxes—we all know how good your word is, Prime Minister, and we all know how good the word of this government is.

Speaking of broken promises, this government knows that removing negative gearing and changing capital gains will reduce the number of houses actually being built in this country. In a rare showing of apparent honesty—or maybe they just couldn't bury it deep enough in the budget papers—they've admitted that they will be building 35,000 fewer homes. Let's put that in perspective. In my electorate, I have Coffs Harbour—the city of Coffs Harbour. If you wipe out 35,000 homes in Coffs Harbour, you wipe out Coffs Harbour. That's how many fewer they are building. It's the same with Port Macquarie. Thirty-five thousand is a significant number.

At the same time, they are pouring record numbers of immigrants into the country. Over the past four years, it has been to the tune of two million people. I want to put that in perspective. From the bottom of Port Macquarie up to Coffs Harbour, then out the back to beautiful Dorrigo, down to Kempsey, Willawarrin, Bellbrook, Rollands Plains and Telegraph Point and back down to Port Macquarie—two million people is 12 times the population of Cowper. Where are those people going to go when you're building 35,000 fewer houses?

But there could be a silver lining of sorts to this homemade problem. That silver lining lies in the regions, particularly on the Mid North Coast, in Cowper. In coastal electorates right across the country, we're already beginning to shoulder the burden of rampant immigration and runaway housing prices, and we're seeing an influx of metro movers at levels we've never seen before—young families who want to escape the city, which is understandable, and older people who are selling up in Sydney or Brisbane to have a better life in areas like Port Macquarie, Raleigh, Repton and Coffs Harbour. We've got impressive schools and good hospitals, so it's understandable. But, without infrastructure investment, of which there is none for the regions and has been none for the regions over the past four years, we cannot grow.

I'll give you one example, and that is in Port Macquarie, where the basic services of sewerage and water are now at capacity, which means we cannot grow any further. The council needs to develop it. They have the plan to develop it, but it will cost a regional council $300 million, and they're asking for a measly $80 million from the federal government, which has been ignored, and I expect will continue to be ignored. We need to invest in our regions and invest now.

See this speech in context