George Christensen (Dawson, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Will the Treasurer outline to the House the right choices the government is making to put downward pressure on housing affordability and help those saving to buy their first home?

Scott Morrison (Cook, Liberal Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Dawson for his question. Members of this House will know that if someone has a roof over their head then that makes all of life's other challenges easier to deal with. And that starts with the commitment we made last night to make sure that the funding that is provided for homelessness to the states is made permanent. The National Partnership Agreement on Homelessness, which was a temporary arrangement put in place by the previous government and supported by this government, has now been made permanent, with some $375 million to support putting a roof over the head of people who have been sleeping rough. It does not matter if you live in Sydney, Darwin, Hobart or North Queensland; that is funding that supports community organisations to deal with the issues of homelessness that are occurring too often around our country.

This government has put real incentives in place to develop affordable housing not just on the eastern seaboard or in the major cities but all around the country, with tax incentives to drive investment to support affordable housing development and ensure that it is available to people who on low incomes who need that support.

On top of that, we are dealing with the supply issues in housing, by working with the states and rewarding the states through the new housing and homelessness agreement. Where the states deliver more housing, they will receive that funding to support their other housing initiatives. But it is not a one-way ATM; it is a two-way street, and we expect to work with the states to ensure they are delivering more housing.

With housing supply on Commonwealth land, we are opening up the Commonwealth land bank. We are starting with the Maribyrnong site, which will see 6,000 homes built in Melbourne. On top of that, we are investing in infrastructure, with the Geelong to Waurn Ponds line, which ensures that places like Geelong are able to connect with Melbourne, and that means people in Geelong can access affordable housing by moving there and still be able to get into the CBD. That is what you do with infrastructure to support housing.

But we are helping first home buyers as well. What we are doing with our first home super savers scheme is enabling people who are saving for their home to get there 30 per cent faster. Before they pay tax, they can put it in their superannuation account and they can use their own savings. This is not their compulsory super savings; it is their own savings, which they would otherwise put in a bank account. And they can build their deposit 30 per cent faster—more simply—which will help those young families trying to get into homes, or even people later in life, in their 50s, because it is not restricted to people under 40. Anyone saving to put in place a deposit for their first home will get there 30 per cent faster, or thereabouts, because of the decisions that this government is making to secure better days ahead.