Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water. How is the Albanese Labor government protecting Australia's threatened species while also easing housing pressures at the same time? Are there any obstacles to these efforts?

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to thank the member for Solomon. He is such a great local member because he's all over the environmental issues in his seat, but also supports the building of much-needed extra housing.

Last week I made an announcement about a housing estate in Darwin. This was a project that began a few years ago, in 2019, but recently some rare birds were found on the site—Gouldian finches. They're absolutely beautiful birds. I paused the construction on that project to make sure we could protect those birds, and that's what we've done.

The birds are present around a dam on the site. We've protected the dam; we've protected a 50-metre buffer around the dam. We're getting rid of the gamba grass, which is a terrible invasive species in the Northern Territory, replacing it with native grasses for the birds to nest in and feed in. We've also protected a stretch along the coast where we have migratory shorebirds. We're stopping people walking through their nesting areas, which they were previously doing. All in all, we'll add 34 hectares of nature reserve to this area, which is about 18 SCGs.

At the same time as protecting the birds, we'll see 800 new homes built. A new school. A new childcare centre. New community facilities. A new bike path. And I'll tell you what: in a city with a one per cent rental vacancy rate and where one in every 20 people are homeless in the Northern Territory, this much-needed housing will make a real contribution.

Sussan Ley (Farrer, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Women) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Any other housing projects being held up for environmental purposes? I think there's quite a few.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Deputy Leader of the Opposition's interjecting again. I know it's not Gold Coast housing, but Darwin housing is important too.

I'll tell you who is opposed to it. The Greens political party are opposed to it—

Opposition members interjecting—

At least they are consistent. They're opposed to Defence housing in Darwin. They're opposed to social housing in Sydney and in Melbourne. They're opposed to a $10 billion fund to build more social housing, 30,000 new homes. It doesn't matter who the housing is for—whether it's women and children escaping domestic violence, whether it's veterans, whether it's Defence personnel, whether it's private renters, whether it's public housing—if it has four walls, a roof and a front door, they're agin it! The difference is we on this side know that we need extra housing, we need to put roofs over the heads of Australians, and we can better protect the environment at the same time.