Allegra Spender (Wentworth, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) acknowledges that Australia is facing a housing crisis, with rents and house prices surging, home ownership falling, and more than 640,000 households either homeless or under housing stress;

(2) notes that:

(a) this crisis is severely affecting young people, those on lower incomes and renters, with advertised rents rising over ten per cent across capital cities and many regions; and

(b) the crisis is the result of decades of failed government policy, which has left Australia with one of the lowest number of homes per person in the OECD;

(3) further acknowledges that:

(a) the Government has taken some positive steps but its commitment to building one million new homes by 2030 is insufficient relative to the scale of the crisis; and

(b) without substantial further action, the Australian dream will soon become a nightmare and a generation of young people will forever be locked out of home ownership; and

(4) calls on the Government to:

(a) significantly raise its ambition on increasing housing supply;

(b) work with state governments and local councils to accelerate actions that increase housing and land availability, which will lead to increased home ownership and improved housing affordability; and

(c) provide urgent support to help young people and renters deal with the cost of living pressures created by this crisis.

Australia is facing a housing crisis. We have 640,000 households who are homeless or under housing stress. Rents are rising at over 10 per cent, and we have some of the lowest amounts of housing per person in the OECD. This housing crisis is particularly affecting young Australians, who are facing being locked out of housing forever. The dire situation they face was best summed up by a young man who came to visit my office recently. He told me that he'd studied hard, got a good degree and got a great job in health care, but, despite doing everything right, he's been left with $50,000 worth of HECS debt and sees no prospect of having housing security or ever buying a home. His story isn't unique.

Decades of policy failure from the major parties have created intergenerational tragedy, where young people are getting smashed by rent increases and are locked out of homeownership. In Wentworth, 45 per cent of properties are rentals, and housing is one of the most pressing issues facing our community right now. In recent months I've spoken with nearly 200 residents as part of a series of housing forums and got the view of 500 locals as part of a housing survey. Their feedback was clear. Key workers can't afford to work in the area or close to where they work. There's not enough social housing, and some of what is available is poorly maintained. Most of all, young people cannot afford to buy in the area unless they're lucky enough to be supported by their parents. We need to move to a situation where younger generations can afford to buy and rent without parental support, where we have normalised long-term renting and where there is a mix of housing options available. But we won't get there without urgent action.

To the government's credit, they have taken some positive steps. For months I've been calling on the Labor government to get guarantees from the states that they will deliver on the increased housing targets before being given extra federal funding. I'm pleased that the National Cabinet has taken up this idea and that money from the new home bonus will be performance based. It's also positive to see more provided through the social housing accelerator and a commitment to strengthening renters' rights. But this plan, even if successfully delivered, will only deliver 1.2 million new homes over the next five years, and it isn't clear that it will be able to be delivered. It won't provide relief to renters in the short term. So we need to go further. We need to do more to encourage new housing supply, and we need to do more to support young renters doing it tough.

On supply, we need to consider all weapons in our arsenal to address how house ownership can be an option for all people and how affordable rental can be an option for all people, and that includes considering the tax system. For instance, stamp duty makes it almost impossible for many people to get onto the property ladder, and it stops people who want to from downsizing. In Victoria, a recent parliamentary inquiry found that stamp duty disproportionately hurts divorced women and young people. In New South Wales, a Treasury analysis showed that, if we switched stamp duty for land tax, homeownership would rise by about seven per cent—seven per cent more people whose lives would be transformed by homeownership. But the financial barriers for states to make the switch are real, so the federal government must give them a helping hand. I urge the government to go beyond just stamp duty and to consider other tax reforms, including how to address tax disincentives to building and scaling build-to-rent, because the tax system is an integral player in the housing system and must be on the table.

On renting, we need systematic reforms that actually deliver results, not bandaid solutions that make good sound-bite policy but bad long-term policy.

The evidence is clear that rent freezes reduce the supply of rental accommodation, encourage landlords to preference shorter and less secure tenancies and discourage investment in maintaining homes. We need reforms that work. That starts with supply, but it also means working with tenancies, so I'm pleased that the National Cabinet has agreed to end no-fault eviction and to limit increases of rents to once a year. These issues need to be implemented urgently. But expanded renters' rights shouldn't stop there. We need tenants to have much greater control over the length of their tenancy. We need a better process for ensuring unjustifiable rent increases aren't forced upon renters, and we need strong minimum energy performance standards for rental property so that renters can reduce their power bills. Without urgent action on housing we are sleepwalking into an intergenerational tragedy, and I urge the government to push harder on this issue.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Yes, I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Housing is one of those public policy areas that beats with a very deeply personal heart for many of us. I remember every flat, apartment and house I've lived in, and, while I certainly remember our public housing commission flat as being a bit rough, I feel fortunate that I and my family were given that opportunity by many Labor governments, frankly, who provided my migrant family an opportunity with that first all-important place to call home. Without access to public housing, I wouldn't be where I am today. I'm also keenly aware that it was easier to make that journey in the 1980s and nineties than it is right now.

We need a roof over our heads to engage in our community, to fully participate at school, to look for and get a job, to work and to contribute. It's about dignity and it's about opportunity, and it gave my family the security that allowed my sister and me to pursue our education and give back to our country, which had given us and continues to give us so much. This is the reality I want for the community that I represent. I know this is the reality the Prime Minister wants for all Australians. Housing insecurity causes immense stress to people across my community and across Australia. For the young family trying to manage alongside childcare fees, for the university student juggling study with part-time work, for older Australians relying on their pension or superannuation, housing affordability and rental stress are issues that cut across all our electorates and our communities.

How did we get to a point where so many Australian have lost hope in the Australian dream? There are lots of reasons. Taxation settings, planning laws that restrict housing in appropriate areas and a lack of government investment in public and social housing over decades have all been contributing factors. But let's not let this be a free pass for the failures of the previous Liberal-National government who for nine years oversaw an increase in housing construction costs—46 per cent over a decade. Scott Morrison, the former prime minister, infamously said he didn't believe in leaving a legacy. Well, he left a legacy of higher house prices, higher rents and greater housing stress, a legacy that has left so many Australians unable to buy their own home. I welcome the member for Wentworth's motion noting the positive work the Albanese government has already undertaken. In just our first year housing has been front of mind in terms of both affordability and supply. At the recent National Cabinet meeting the Albanese government committed to build over one million new homes, adding a $3 billion new homes bonus and a $500 million housing support program. At the same National Cabinet meeting we secured a better deal for renters with regard to rent increases and evictions and much more.

Earlier this year the Prime Minister announced federal funding of $2 billion to the Social Housing Accelerator, which has already been delivering to states and territories to start building new social homes. We have also increased the maximum of Commonwealth rent assistance by 15 per cent, the largest increase in over 30 years. There's also been the work done with states and territories on the Help to Buy SCHEME, which will support up to 40,000 low- and middle-income families to purchase their own home and cut the cost of buying a home by up to 40 per cent for these Australians. We've expanded the Home Guarantee Scheme eligibility, allowing friends, siblings and other family members to jointly apply. This will help Australians to own their home. This will help Australians with their rental stress. This will help Australians access housing because it's about supply.

But let's not forget the importance of the National Housing and Homelessness Plan with its $1.7 billion to support frontline homelessness services throughout Australia with the essential work that they do, and next year the states and territory will see a collective $67 million boost to homelessness funding. The government also has the National Housing Infrastructure Facility, which is investing $575 million to build homes today. I encourage and call on the other place to support our $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund because it will ensure that 30,000 social and affordable new homes are built over the next five years.

There has been a lot of action in this space in our first year and a half of government, and there will be more. This government is committed to increasing supply, and all the policies I've just outlined demonstrate that commitment in real action. We believe in the fundamental human right that is housing, and in getting the balance right. For too long housing has become more of an investment vehicle in some respects, because of those settings, rather than a fundamental human right and a starting point to enable families to make their contribution to Australia. That's what was given to my family almost 50 years ago—the opportunity to get a good start in life through housing. It's a fundamental need, and this government is committed to it.

Dai Le (Fowler, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Like the member for Wills, my family was also given the opportunity to rebuild our lives through the availability of public housing. I'm grateful for that, and I'm here today as a result of that kickstart. We all know that, back in the 1970s, about 64 per cent of young people aged between 30 and 34 years owned a home, whereas now that figure is down to about 50 per cent, and I believe it's shrinking. Housing is a crippling challenge for many Australians who are working hard for themselves and their families. These days, no matter how hard you work, the great Australian dream of owning a home is just that—a dream. While we have been debating the merits and detriments of the Albanese government's Housing Australia Future Fund, or HAAF, millions of Australians have been struggling to pay their rent or meet their mortgage repayments, even being evicted. On top of all that, a new class of working homeless is emerging. We can't keep talking about the problem; we need action. We need to pull together. We need to work together and implement an accelerator type program to create real solutions for all Australians.

The member for Wentworth and I come from different electorates, but we share a common goal: we want to see our future generations able to own their own home. We want to bring back that great Australian dream for everyone in Australia, regardless of background or postcode. With the current cost-of-living crisis, many young Australians and middle-income earners have simply given up on the idea of ever owning their own home. Our most vulnerable communities bear the brunt of the housing crisis. Low-income earners, living pay cheque to pay cheque, find themselves forced to vacate their residences and left to face a life in emergency accommodation or, even worse, on the streets.

Forty-two per cent of my electorate of Fowler currently rent, and we have the fourth-worst rental affordability in Australia. Over 45 per cent of families spend more than 30 per cent of their household income on rent. Our area is crying out for more social and affordable housing. We simply cannot afford to sit and wait on the social housing list for more than 10 years. It's heartbreaking to see families in Fowler who have shared my dream of making a better life and now do not dare to dream of owning a home. What they dream about is a warm bed and a safe place to raise their children. Only 26 per cent of the population in my electorate owns a property, and many are struggling to meet their home loan repayments, with the fourth-worst mortgage affordability in Australia. Nearly 25 per cent of our households spend more than 30 per cent of their household income on repayments.

While I acknowledge that the government is trying to improve the situation with the HAFF and the Housing Accord, financing is just one issue. Other issues include a lack of available land, workforce shortages, increased cost of construction, and council and state government processes and regulations. This cannot be fixed just by throwing money at the problem. What is clear is that there needs to be collaboration between all levels of government in order to address the current housing crisis.

Together with the member for Wentworth, I call on the government to work with local and state governments to accelerate actions to increase housing and land availability, which will lead to an increased availability of social and affordable housing. We need to act together. State governments can eliminate the red tape by releasing land and working with councils to promote better housing outcomes, as well as improving regulation processes and procedures.

How can we facilitate the process for young people? We've seen New South Wales scrap land tax and Victoria scrap stamp duty. Why can't we give people more choices to suit their unique situations? Community housing providers and their partnering developers should be allowed to access tax breaks, expedited DA approval processes and other incentives on a state and local level to make up the shortfall of construction costs and land prices. It is up to every one of us to take steps that will increase social and affordable housing in this country. We have to stop talking about the problems and start talking about solutions, otherwise we will continue to see the decline in housing availability and family and children living in crisis and emergency accommodation.

Jerome Laxale (Bennelong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's clear we are in the middle of a housing crisis. Rents and house prices are skyrocketing, making an affordable place to call home harder to secure. The sad part about this is that this crisis is not new. It didn't start when the Albanese government was elected last year. It didn't start when Tony Abbott was caught eating an onion. This is a crisis that has been evolving and worsening for quite some time. When I'm chatting to locals in Bennelong I hear again and again that they are concerned about housing affordability. Homeowners want their kids to afford a place to live locally and young people and young families want a stable, affordable roof over their heads—just as the majority of their parents had in their generation. The public desire for action has been there for some time. Unfortunately the need for action right now is becoming more and more urgent.

Before coming here, just like the member for Fowler, I had the pleasure of spending nearly a decade in local government, five as the local mayor. It was through that experience that I became aware of the housing crisis and the inability of the market to fix it. It became quite clear to me quite quickly that government intervention was necessary as the market, in its then form, was incapable of providing affordable rentals and affordable homes to buy for all. So at the time, as mayor, I thought I would try to do something about it. After holding a local housing summit, the council then adopted an affordable housing policy with the aim of trying to get developers to provide affordable rental homes to the council for the purpose of providing homes for low- and middle-income earners. Projections by the council's policy indicated that by 2031 the local government area in Bennelong will require an estimated 10,700 affordable dwellings to meet local needs.

In response to these shocking statistics, the council, with community support, lodged an inclusionary zoning amendment in our local planning laws to help fix the problem. And despite evidence showing housing was unaffordable for families, despite then Premier Berejiklian declaring affordable housing as her priority and despite community support for our proposal, our efforts to help housing were rejected. Farcically, the Liberal state government said the proposal 'was ahead of its time'. What this shameful example taught me is that no one level of government can fix this housing crisis, no one level of government can go it alone. This is a national crisis and one we need a coordinated and targeted response to solve.

I cannot tell you how proud I am to be part of a federal government that has put solutions to our national housing crisis on the table. It was part of the reason why I decided to put my hand up to be a candidate last year. The nation is talking about housing because it is this Labor government that was elected on a mandate to help solve it. It is this Labor government that took policies on housing to last year's election, and it is the Labor housing minister that has been working every day to implement them. And it is this Labor government that is bringing state and local governments to the table to work together on this. After a decade of negligence by the former federal government, we finally have a federal government committed to addressing the housing crisis and taking tangible steps to deliver housing relief for Australians.

On top of our direct investments in building homes and our proposed Housing Australia Future Fund, one of the most important things we've done since coming to government is getting the states, territories and local governments together. Expanding upon the foundations laid by our National Housing Accord, we have introduced substantial initiatives such as the $3 billion New Homes Bonus and the $500 million housing support program. These efforts with state and territory governments are geared towards achieving national targets which entail the construction of 1.2 million new homes in the course of the next five years. We know these measures are important, and they need the support and collaboration of this parliament and all levels of government across the country.

There is no one solution here. We need direct investment, we need cooperation with state and territory governments and we need this parliament to be working hard to deliver outcomes. I'd encourage those in the other place to support the measures that will soon to be in the Senate for the Housing Australia Future Fund, because without that collaboration, without that national response, we'll not be able to ease the housing pressure that is facing Australians today.

Mike Freelander (Macarthur, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The time allotted for this debate has expired. The debate is adjourned, and the resumption of the debate will be made in order of the day for the next sitting.