Alicia Payne (Canberra, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Prime Minister. How will the Housing Australia Future Fund build a better future for Australians, and is there any opposition to the bill?

Anthony Albanese (Grayndler, Australian Labor Party, Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Canberra for her question. I am pleased that there is now a majority in the Senate for the Housing Australia Future Fund. This is an important policy that I announced as part of a budget reply and that we took to the election and we have an endorsement for. It's a policy that will see 30,000 social and affordable homes built, including 4,000 for women and children fleeing domestic violence. It will see homes built for frontline workers and for veterans. It will fix up housing in remote and regional communities. This is the single biggest investment in housing in more than a decade. It ensures that more Australians have a safe and affordable place to call home. We're working for Australia and we're delivering on our commitments each and every day.

I thank the crossbench in both the House of Representatives and the Senate for their support. But those opposite, of course, continue to say no. They continue to say no to this like they say no to absolutely everything. They've borrowed some rhetoric from some others in this place. They've borrowed some rhetoric now from one of the crossbench parties, those opposite, in saying that it's all about a punt. I don't know what they think the Future Fund is. It's chaired by their mate Peter Costello, so maybe he can explain it to them if they give him a call. Their only policy, of course, is to let people raid their own super to buy a home, even though we know that that is stealing from tomorrow to make the problem worse today. The opposition is determined to say no to everything.

If we'd waited around for them, six million Australians would still be waiting for cheaper medicines, five million households would still be waiting for energy bill relief, one million families would still be waiting for cheaper child care. They are the blockers; we are the builders. And I refer them to the statement of Robert Menzies when the Liberal Party was formed. Way back in 1944 he said this: '… on far too many questions we have found our role to be simply that of the man who says no.' Remind you of anyone? He went on to say:

There is no room in Australia for a party of reaction. There is no useful place for a policy of negation.

Those opposite say no to absolutely everything. It doesn't matter whether there is a mandate, doesn't matter how broad the support for a policy is. It is just no, no, no, no, just the one sound coming out of this Leader of the Opposition. (Time expired)