House debates

Tuesday, 22 June 2021

Adjournment

Housing Affordability

7:30 pm

Photo of Justine ElliotJustine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | | Hansard source

I rise tonight to talk again about a really major issue in my electorate, and that is housing and housing affordability. This is without a doubt the major concern that locals raise with me, because the New South Wales North Coast faces a huge housing affordability crisis, a rental crisis and a homelessness crisis, and it is getting worse day by day. Our region has seen the largest increase in house prices across the entire nation. Recent reports show that house prices on the New South Wales North Coast have risen more in the past 12 months than anywhere across Australia. House values in the Richmond-Tweed area have climbed 21.9 per cent in the 12 months to April and almost 30 per cent in Byron. The fact is it costs more on average to buy a house in Byron than it does to buy a house in Sydney. The median house price in the Byron shire is now $1.4 million, compared to Greater Sydney's $1.1 million. We've also seen equally massive increases right across our area, and for locals it essentially means they've been priced out of the market. For so many first home buyers in our region the dream of owning their own home is completely unattainable. It is practically impossible for first home buyers to even get into the market.

The rental crisis is also incredibly desperate. There is no other word for it. Rental vacancies are under 0.3 per cent. Every day locals are contacting me and telling me how hard it is to find a place to rent or that their rent has suddenly skyrocketed overnight, forcing them to move out because they simply cannot afford it. When we look at our community pages on social media we see story after story of really desperate situations—people in crisis, calling out for somewhere to live—and that is increasing at a rapid rate on those social media pages. So many long-term locals, the people who have lived in our region their whole lives, are being forced out of the area, because they just can't find a place to live. In some cases we see rents double overnight. For many people, they're paying that rent but they just can't afford to eat. That's the reality of their situation.

We're also seeing increasing pressure on our food banks, our community pantries and our meal services. Our local community organisations do an incredible job, but the demand on their services is just not sustainable. Many are saying they're seeing people they've never seen before—many working families that cannot afford to buy groceries to eat, because all of their money has to go into paying these huge increases in rent.

As a result of the housing and rental crisis we're now seeing so many people forced into homelessness. The ABC North Coast recently reported that in a state street count over the past month, more than 40 per cent of people sleeping rough in New South Wales were on the New South Wales North Coast. We've also been told it's estimated that there are approximately 400 women in the Byron region who are sleeping in their cars. This is a disgrace and it must be addressed. We just have no affordable housing in our region.

The Liberals and Nationals have been in power for eight long years, and in that time housing affordability has gotten worse. We have continuously called for a national housing affordability plan and it just hasn't happened. The fact it it's not just in my region; it's everywhere. It's harder to buy. It's harder rent. And there are more homeless people in Australia than ever before. This is truly shameful.

Recently the shadow minister for housing and homelessness, the member for Blaxland, came to my region to hear firsthand from locals about this crisis and to discuss all of the issues that I've raised today. The fact is Labor is listening, listening to my community and listening across the country, and that's why recently we announced our housing affordability plan. During the visit to my region the shadow minister highlighted Labor's plan to build social and affordable housing now and into the future. We talked about how an Albanese Labor government will create the housing Australia future fund to build social and affordable housing in places like mine that are experiencing this crisis. This fund will create jobs, build homes and change lives. It's not just good social policy; it's also good economic policy.

Labor's future fund will give more Australians a future. It's so important to have that massive investment in housing projects, social housing and affordable housing. It will also provide affordable homes for those heroes of the pandemic who have kept us safe—those frontline workers, like the police, the nurses and the cleaners—and it will provide housing for veterans and crisis accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic violence. These are such important issues for my community. Again, I call on the government to address this crisis across the nation.