Zaneta Mascarenhas (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

To those opposite: I think sometimes what we need to do in this place is think about people. I remember, in 2022, during the federal election campaign, meeting a woman who was playing a clarinet at the park by the Perth Zoo. She was experiencing homelessness. One of the fastest growing rates of homelessness that we've seen in Australia is for women in their 60s and older. But do you know what? We're not just a government that listens. We are a government that acts. That's why we have committed to 55,000 social and affordable homes. This is not just a number. This is actually happening.

In the week of the budget, I got to go to Victoria Park and Clark Court, where 15 homes are being built. Ten of those homes will be for women. Connect Victoria Park is an extraordinary organisation that is doing the work to get the job done. In my electorate alone, 524 homes will be built through social and affordable housing. How many houses did those opposite build during nine years for the entire nation? They built 373. That is pathetic. We are also fixing the housing tax system. We're doing that because it is right. This is a government that is doing the right thing for the next generation for today and tomorrow.

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