Carina Garland (Chisholm, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I want to also thank our very hardworking Broadcasting staff here in the House of Representatives. I find it quite unfortunate that someone who does seek to become Treasurer of this country and who brought this motion to the House today is seemingly promoting misinformation and appears quite ignorant of the history of his own party. I want to thank the assistant minister for providing some really important historical context for this debate today. If anyone is operating in bad faith when it comes to aspiration, it is those opposite right now. Our budget is all about helping with the cost of living, strengthening Medicare and giving Australians a fair go at buying their own home. We are encouraging aspiration and opportunity.

Under those opposite, Australians suffered three terms of government without a housing minister, and, over nine years, less than 400 social and affordable homes were built—only 373, to be precise. Governments are not elected to protect broken systems. Governments are elected to respond to the challenges that are in front of them, and Australians know the housing market is not working fairly. Young Australians know it, renters know it, families trying to save for a deposit know it, my community knows it, and this side of the House knows it. Right now, first home buyers are being priced out of the market. They're being priced out by those who are backed by tax breaks, and the current combination of negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount has been giving investors an advantage over Australians who are really trying very hard to buy a home to live in for themselves and their families—to build a good life.

Our government, with the Minister for Housing, is acting responsibly and trying to help Australians put a roof over their heads—to have a dream for themselves and their families for the future. We're limiting negative gearing for future investments so that it can only be used for new builds that add to housing supply. We're hearing a lot of misinformation, frankly, from those opposite. We are actually trying to make the system fairer, to put more homes into our communities so that people can live near their families, near their loved ones and near their jobs; can start small businesses; and can dream of a future. Investors will still be able to access concessions by investing in new housing, adding supply to the market. We know that will mean more houses will be built, there will be more supply in the market, and, again, there will be more opportunity for younger Australians to finally get a fair opportunity at homeownership.

We're not interested in protecting a system that hasn't been working for people. Aspiration in this country should belong to everybody. It should belong to a teacher, it should belong to a nurse, it should belong to an apprentice, and it should belong to a small-business owner. We're already delivering five per cent deposits for first home buyers, and we're building 100,000 homes set aside specifically for them. We have 415 Australians in my community of Chisholm who've bought a house under this scheme, and I congratulate them on buying their first home. I do wonder what those opposite—what the member for Goldstein—would have to say to those people who've been able to use our government's policies to set themselves and their families up for the future.

We're also undertaking Australia's biggest ever housing build—1.2 million homes, including 55,000 social and affordable homes. We're getting those homes built faster by funding the essential infrastructure people need while training more tradies through free TAFE and supporting apprentices with a $10,000 incentive. We are not pulling away the ladder of aspiration like those opposite seek to do. We're extending aspiration to more people. We're delivering real relief for working Australians right now, including with more tax cuts from 1 July this year for every single Australian taxpayer.

We're strengthening Medicare; we're making free urgent care clinics a permanent part of Medicare. When we were elected, we said we wanted to build a better future to ensure that no-one was held back or left behind, and, through this budget, we are continuing that important work.

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