Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yesterday, the Greens and the Liberals voted to delay until mid-October a vote on labour's $10 billion housing package. Greens MPs and senators are telling their voters, many of whom are good, decent, compassionate people, that they haven't rejected the bill; they've only delayed it. But the founders of this country anticipated this sort of game-playing. Under the Constitution, blocking a bill for more than three months counts as a rejection, so the Greens might think they're being cute by blocking the bill instead of voting it down, but there's nothing cute about the real world impacts of their student politics.

The unholy alliance between the Greens and the Liberals has blocked 30,000 new homes for vulnerable Australians, including 4,000 homes for women and children escaping domestic violence. It's blocked new homes for veterans and new homes for first responders to live close to work. It's blocked $500 million every year being invested. It's blocked a permanent 1,200 homes every year in Tasmania. The Greens' and Liberal's rejection of labour's housing package means longer delays for people who are living in cars and tents and under bridges—Tasmanians who need our roof over their head now, not when it's politically convenient for the Greens. In Tasmania we have more than 4,000 people on the public housing waiting list, and they need homes now, not in the future. That list is only going to grow because of this unholy alliance between the Liberals and the Greens. (Time expired)