Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My electorate has some of the most beautiful spa country in the state with the towns of Daylesford and Hepburn Springs amongst the most popular. During the lockdowns of 2020, many Melburnians have decided to move to regional Victoria and now call Hepburn Shire and Ballarat home. With the increase in population, of course, has come skyrocketing house prices in the area. This might be fortunate for homeowners, but renters and first home buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to find affordable housing in the areas they've always called home. With many of the houses being purchased as weekenders, this makes it difficult for the next generations to purchase homes close to their families and within the communities that they've grown up in. Without these younger generations staying locally, it will affect many parts of the community: the viability of our schools, kindergartens and childcare centres; junior footballers and netballers who continue to keep the clubs going; and new volunteers for CFAs, as the longer-term volunteers step back from an active firefighting role. These are only a few examples of how essential the younger generations are to our small regional towns.

Along with an increase in population, the area has also seen an increase in tourism and daytrippers from Melbourne. Again, this is fantastic to see. With all the restaurants and shops overflowing with patrons, business owners are struggling to find workers, as many are leaving the area to seek affordable housing. That's why a Labor government will create a $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund to build social and affordable housing. In my electorate this will change lives. The building of affordable homes will encourage hospitality and tourism workers back into the areas that they've grown up in for work. With the hotels, restaurants, spas and shops fully staffed, it will allow the business owners to open longer hours and accommodate more patrons, allowing Hepburn Shire to thrive post pandemic.

The current government must do more to make regional housing more affordable across this country. These communities which rely on tourism in particular also rely on affordable housing to be able to keep and sustain their workforce. With the borders still closed and predicted to remain closed for another 12 months, they can no longer rely on international travellers to make up this workforce. Australians cannot afford to travel large distances from their affordable housing to work in hospitality when jobs are available closer to home. The Housing Australia Future Fund is not just good social policy; it's good economic policy. After eight long years of the coalition being in government, housing affordability has got even worse, and there are more homeless Australians than ever before. In regional Victoria and the electorate of Ballarat, we're very proud in our communities. We need affordable housing so these communities can continue to offer an amazing lifestyle.