Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on this motion, which is very important—it covers some very important topics for my electorate of Monash. I follow some fine contributions by my colleagues on this side of the chamber, the members for McPherson and Goldstein, who, I know, feel very passionately about this issue—it's core to Liberal values—and that is: the right to build a life, raise a family and own your own home.

Homeownership is not just an economic decision. It's about belonging and it's about being part of a community. In my community, in my part of the world, the Monash electorate, this is particularly important in areas like the Bass Coast Shire Council and Wonthaggi, where we've got rapid population growth and the infrastructure is not keeping pace with that population growth. In Baw Baw shire, which the demographer Bernard Salt has written extensively about, Warragul and Drouin have been the fastest-growing towns in Australia over a 10-year period. So we need new infrastructure; we need new housing. At the recent election, I was really pleased to be able to secure some commitments, on behalf of the coalition, to help unlock infrastructure that would provide more homes—more affordable homes—in our region.

But this issue is also about Australians who invest in their own future more broadly—Australians who work hard, pay their bills and raise a family. It's about a future that people can believe in and a future where hard work pays off and dreams are within reach.

The coalition is and always has been the party of homeownership. I reflect on our founder, Robert Menzies: when he returned to the prime ministership in December 1949, he made homeownership a core part of his post-war vision for Australia. We, on this side of the House, understand what it means for young people to be able to take that first step into the property market. But that first step is becoming further and further away for so many young people these days.

I understand the frustration that so many Australians, particularly in my own electorate of Monash, feel when that dream is pushed out of reach—pushed out of reach by poor policy; pushed out of reach by a Labor government defined by waste and mismanagement. Today that dream of homeownership has never been more under threat. Under Labor, the great Australian dream of owning a home is fast becoming a nightmare.

Let me be clear. Australia is in the middle of a housing crisis. But this is not a crisis caused by some uncontrollable global force. It's a crisis caused directly by decisions of the Albanese Labor government. In just three short years, Labor has presided over the biggest population surge Australia has seen since the 1950s—three consecutive years of record immigration, with hundreds of thousands of new people added to our population every year, at a time when housing construction has plummeted. They've increased demand through record migration, while simultaneously stifling supply with bureaucracy, red tape and economic mismanagement. It's the worst possible combination: more people, fewer homes, higher prices, longer wait lists and growing despair.

Just ask one of the young tradies that I spoke to recently in Moe; he is now saving for his first home, but that feels further and further out of reach. Ask the young growing family in Leongatha I met with recently, who are trying to make that jump from renting to owning; that gap is getting further and further apart. Ask the young couple in Bass Coast who work day and night and shouldn't have to rely on the bank of mum and dad. I have spoken with many young Australians in my electorate of Monash who've explained to me how they've done all the right things. They've studied hard. They've saved hard. They've worked long hours. Many of them are actually working multiple jobs to make ends meet. And they're still left asking: will I ever get to own my own home?

This is the legacy of Labor's housing policies. They haven't just failed to fix the crisis; they've actually made it worse. Labor's housing policies are incoherent. In one breath they say they want to cut red tape, but in the next they want to become the nation's largest mortgage insurer. You're either for the private economy, fewer bureaucracies and getting government out of the way or you're not. Labor clearly isn't. In their first term alone, the Albanese Labor government introduced more than 5,000 new regulations, including over 1,500 in the Treasury and infrastructure portfolios.

Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It doesn't help.

Mary Aldred (Monash, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

No, it doesn't. It doesn't help at all. They introduced 400 new laws. All of that comes with a staggering $4.8 billion compliance cost to the economy. It's my community and my constituents in Monash who are feeling it the most. Local builders are tied up in paperwork instead of building homes. Local councils—and I work closely with Bass Coast Shire Council and Baw Baw Shire Council, and I acknowledge the City of Latrobe and the South Gippsland Shire Council—are trying their best with an overstretched infrastructure base and limited resources, but they are overwhelmed with compliance demands.

Only three years ago, in 2022, Labor massively expanded the National Construction Code, a code which now runs to nearly 3,000 pages, referencing more than 150 Australian standards, each at least 50 pages long, and often cross-referencing thousands more. This is Labor's version of cutting red tape. When the coalition called for a freeze on the NCC to give our builders, including those going to work right now, today, across the Monash electorate, the breathing room they so desperately needed, Labor accused the coalition of wanting to build 'shoddy' homes. Now, Labor are calling for the same freeze.

Labor's obsession with red tape in housing is just one symptom of a much bigger problem. While communities like mine in Monash are paying the price, Australia has now dropped five places in the IMD world competitiveness rankings. We sit at 37th in the world for business efficiency. That tells you everything you need to know. Labor made a big promise—1.2 million new homes by 2029 under their National Housing Accord. But, like so many of their promises, it was long on ambition and short on actual delivery and outcomes. Leaked Treasury advice has confirmed what Australians suspected all along: this target simply won't be met. The Labor government doesn't have a plan, and communities like mine, in the Monash electorate, are paying the price for it every day.

So often in this place we can be quite easily caught up on the material costs, but what we all do in this place matters. In particular, when speaking on a topic like this, it can be easy to forget that there is very much a human cost to Labor's housing crisis. This is unfortunately becoming increasingly evident every day. Under Labor's watch, homelessness isn't improving. In fact, it's going the other way and getting worse. I see this every week in my electorate of Monash, where people are doing it incredibly tough right now. Just last month, Homelessness Australia told the ABC that the current crisis is the worst in living memory. The number of people needing homelessness services has surged by 10 per cent since Labor came to office in May 2022. For women and girls that figure is even more alarming, with a 14 per cent increase in just two years. These aren't statistics. These are mums who are now sleeping in cars. These are young Victorians and other young Australians who are being pushed further and further to the edge.

The coalition understands that housing isn't just about the economy. It's about dignity, stability and having a safe place to call your home—a home that belongs to you and that means you have a stake in our nation too.

I know how serious the homelessness crisis is, especially for the most vulnerable in our community. I'm also cognisant that the situation is getting worse in towns across Australia. However, unlike Labor, I'm focused on practical solutions and so is the coalition. That's why I'm here: to help others. Victorians are doing it tough across west and south Gippsland, and they don't have time for more broken promises. They need action, not excuses.

Australians were told that this would transform housing supply, ease pressure on the rental market and support the most vulnerable in our communities, but two years on we're still asking the same basic question: how many homes has it actually built? The government doesn't seem to know and doesn't seem to want to say. This is what I will be fighting for every day. (Time expired)

Claire Clutterham (Sturt, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I bought my first house in 2017 when I was 35. Prior to that, I'd been living overseas for almost a decade in the Middle East and Asia, seeing the world, working hard and having unforgettable experiences that have shaped the person I am today. I returned home to Adelaide in late 2016 and, as was the necessity at that time, I moved back in with my parents—a shout-out to mum and dad. As much as I love my parents, having lived out of home in various rental properties and share houses around the world since I was 23 years old, I couldn't wait to move out, to put down roots in my own little piece of the earth, to get a couple of pets, to play the music I wanted to pay, to play my piano whenever I wanted, to cook what I wanted when I wanted, to buy the type of furniture I liked, to create a little garden in a small backyard and then, in my case, with my ability to kill even resilient and tough desert plants, find a couple of neighbourhood kids who could look after that garden for me.

Being back home with mum and dad was a very strong motivation to buy a house, and I ended up buying the second house I saw. I lived by myself in that house with my pets for about four years until I met the man who would go on to become my husband and moved in with him. But that house, with its memories, still means so much to me—because it's mine. I had worked hard to save to buy it. Like many Australians, no-one helped me. I was like many Australians whose parents are hardworking but don't have the funds to provide a deposit for their children. I did it on my own, and it's my little piece of the earth. I vividly remember getting a kick every single time I drove home from work, from the shops, from the gym, from anywhere, and turned on to my street, turned up my driveway and parked in the garage of the house that I owned. I got a kick out of it every time—the knowledge that this was my house, that I was building my future, that I would have security of housing, a roof over my head, in Adelaide, a place that I love.

That feeling—that kick, that thrill, that sense of pride—is what Labor wants all Australians to experience. Labor wants Australians to feel that sense of security as they drive up their street, drive up their driveway, get out of the car and unlock the front door to their own home. Labor wants Australians to be able to put down roots in a community, to feel the pride and sense of relief that comes when people are able to access the housing market.

When I bought my house, I had a good job and a good income, and I still remember thinking: 'Gosh, this is expensive. This is tough.' Eight years after I bought a house, things are even tougher. It is even harder to save for a 20 per cent deposit, even if you have a good job and a good income.

The housing environment that we are in has been decades in the making, and there are no quick fixes. The Albanese Labor government understands that, and we are acting. Under the passionate leadership of a Prime Minister and Minister for Housing who are absolutely dedicated to developing a policy environment that facilitates access to the housing market for all Australians, this government is acting. The Albanese Labor government understands that too many people are working hard and trying to save to access the housing market but feeling like they will never get to experience the pride, dignity and security that homeownership brings because it feels so far out of reach. This government is listening and this government is acting.

From 1 October 2025, three months earlier than anticipated, all first home buyers will need a deposit of just five per cent, helping them to buy a home sooner, helping them into long-term security sooner, helping them to maybe start a family sooner and put roots down in their community. This will not only benefit the first home buyers of my electorate of Sturt; it will benefit first home buyers across Australia. On housing, the Albanese Labor government is listening, and we are acting. In addition to only needing a five per cent deposit, cutting years off the time it takes to save for a deposit, first home buyers will not have to dig further into their pockets to pay for mortgage insurance. There is more. There are no income limits, no limits on places, and house price caps that better reflect the cost of homes across Australia.

My electorate of Sturt is diverse. It runs across Adelaide's eastern belt. It's a mix of young people, families, blue collar workers, white collar workers and elderly Australians who have spent decades raising their families and contributing to their community. Sturt is a beautiful part of Adelaide and a beautiful part of the world. Almost every time I speak to a resident the conversation ends with us agreeing that we are lucky to live there. The first home buyers of Sturt deserve to be able to buy a home and to put down roots in our beautiful community. So far, up to April 2025, 150 households and 220 individuals have taken advantage of the first homeowners scheme. Now, even more will be able to do so.

Whilst I was doorknocking, I met Robert. Robert told me that his son James had a university HECS debt and had to pay that off at the same time as saving for a deposit. I spoke to Robert in the months after the Albanese Labor government announced it would be wiping 20 per cent off student debt. Robert was very pleased to learn about this, and he quipped to me that James could now possibly afford to move out of home. Robert and James, that will now be a reality! With 20 per cent off his HECS debt and only a five per cent deposit required, James can access the housing market. James can be a homeowner much, much sooner than he ever thought. Under this program, a first home buyer could take up to eight years off the time it takes to save for a deposit, based on the median price of an $844,000 home, and save about $34,000 in mortgage insurance.

We know there is more work to do, but this government's housing policies have started to bear fruit. Over 180,000 Australians have bought their first home with our five per cent deposit program. One million households have received nearly a 50 per cent rent assistance increase and 500,000 homes have been built since we came to office in 2022. New housing approvals are up 30 per cent and construction costs have stabilised. We've also got 28,000 social and affordable homes, supported by our government, in planning and construction. And now, with this legislation, we go even further: reducing the cost of education, tax cuts for all Australians again and again, energy bill relief. This government is committed to cost-of-living measures for all Australians, and this critical housing announcement is a part of that, opening up the housing market even further so all first home buyers can buy a home. It is helping Australians live a productive, meaningful, secure and purposeful life.

Housing is the foundation on which every Australian experiences life in our country, and that is what we are delivering for the Australian people. That is what the Albanese Labor government have always done and that is what the Albanese Labor government will continue to do.

Aaron Violi (Casey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There is no doubt that housing is the biggest issue for young people in my community of Casey and all across the country. It is harder today to buy a house as a first home buyer than it's ever been. But, unfortunately for the Australian people, for young people, like in so many other policy areas, the Albanese Labor government is big on spin but shallow on delivery. Even this debate we're having is not needed, because it's not new legislation coming in. It's just an opportunity to go through their talking points. This motion, like so many others, fits the standard definition of ALP policy and their housing policies: big on spin, low on delivery. I spoke about this last term. I was hoping that, with a new term, the government might change their ways, but it ticks the box of 'big number over a long period of time'.

Let's look at some of the facts about the housing policies and the delivery—the most important thing—for the Australian people on housing under this government. Their big announcement was their target of 1.2 million homes. They talk about that 1.2 million a lot. What they don't talk about is the fine print: 'by 2029'—over five years, over a long period of time. They don't talk about that, because the 1.2 million sounds impressive. There are a few problems with this 1.2 million target. It's a marginal increase on what was actually being delivered under the coalition, so it's actually not that ambitious at all.

Let's look at the facts the Minister for Housing and the government don't like. Under the coalition, 200,000 homes per year were being built. Under the Albanese Labor government, 170,000 homes per year are being built. Under this government, we are going backwards. The target was marginal—about 40,000 homes extra a year to achieve that—and they are failing. They are failing because it is all about spin for this government. We've got to the new parliament, and this government are completely out of ideas and need to take coalition policy and rebadge it as their own. In fairness—I'll get to it—they did the same thing last term. It's politics 101 for the Prime Minister.

They've announced the freezing of the National Construction Code. It's a good announcement—credit is it's due—but, as they say, imitation is the greatest form of flattery. During the campaign, the coalition announced that we wanted to freeze the National Construction Code. They've literally taken the coalition policy, fabricated a three-day talkfest that was a productivity roundtable, then became an economics roundtable and went back to being a productivity roundtable when the Prime Minister flexed his muscle because the Treasurer was getting a little bit ambitious about his leadership opportunities. This was all so they could announce a coalition policy as their own. We knew they were going to announce it as their own, because of those pesky leaked Treasury documents a week and a half before that had gone to the cabinet and had this as one of the announcements afterwards. One of the big questions is: who was actually leaking that from the cabinet? Who wanted the Australian people to know that the fix was in?

But the other thing about the National Construction Code—let's look at what the Minister for Housing said when the coalition announced the policy during the campaign this year. It was 'a blunt force instrument', and there was concerns if you needed to address 'urgent safety and consumer issues'. The member for Chifley, who was a member of the executive at the time and no longer is, accused the opposition of condemning Australians to live in 'shoddy' homes that could result in a 'Grenfell Tower inferno'. So six months ago we had the Minister for Housing and a member of the executive criticising this policy, saying it was going to lead to shoddy homes and there could be safety issues and consumer issues—criticising it outright. Six months later, apparently it is the solution and it is great. That tells you two things about this minister. She's out of ideas and she's prepared to say one thing six months ago and the complete opposite six months later. That is unbelievable.

And it gets worse when we're looking at the code. In 2022, the ALP expanded the code. They put more regulation, more requirements, on housing. The code is now over 3,000 pages and references over 150 Australian standards, adding complexity to housing in 2022 and taking coalition policy in 2025 and rebadging it as their own—a complete admission of failure by this housing minister and this government. They have made it harder for Australian people to buy a new home, by making it harder to build a home.

We then move to what we're talking about here, the homeowners scheme—like all good policies from the ALP, taken from the coalition. I want to read from a press release from the Hon. Michael Sukkar MP, who was the Minister for Housing and Assistant Treasurer in the last coalition government. Again, let's call out the Minister for Housing. She talks about how the coalition didn't have a minister for housing in the last government. Awkwardly for her, I'm holding a press release from that Minister for Housing. I'm going to quote the then minister about the Liberal Party's First Home Loan Deposit Scheme:

The Scheme will help first home buyers enter the property market sooner, by providing a guarantee that will allow eligible first home buyers on low and middle incomes to purchase a home with a deposit of as little as 5 per cent.

That is literally the policy that the government has been praising today and yesterday. It is proof that all this government can do is borrow coalition policies that were working, reheat them and put a new name on them. Again, it's all about spin, not about delivery.

But the beautiful irony of that and the beautiful irony of the government wanting to bring on this motion is that, every time a member of the government, including the Prime Minister yesterday—I was in the House for this—praises their own scheme and talks about how great this scheme is, they are praising and giving credit to the former minister for housing, the former member for Deakin, the Hon. Michael Sukkar MP. I want to pay credit to Mr Sukkar, the former member for Deakin. This government is so impressed with his policy ideas that it has stolen them and it's now praising them. We do know how loved and respected the former member for Deakin was by those opposite, so I'm sure they will continue to enjoy praising the former member for Deakin! I think the new member for Calwell will be up next. I'm going to look forward to his contribution paying respect and homage to that former minister. I know he was in this House in another role last term. I'm looking forward to that. It was great to be here yesterday when the Prime Minister paid so much respect to Michael Sukkar, the former coalition government and Prime Minister Morrison.

That's the reality of this government. It is the Australian people that are being let down by their political spin. The Prime Minister and the Treasurer have spent so long here in this House—either as staffers or as members of parliament, they have been here their whole lives—that they think that playing these games, stealing ideas from the coalition and rebadging them will be the solution. Whether it's housing, whether it's energy or whether it's the cost of living, political spin in this House doesn't get it done. You have to make tangible differences. You actually have to change what is happening at the source. For three years, this government has failed—failed to address cost of living at the source, failed to address energy prices at the source and failed to address housing at the source. They continue to spin and spin, but time has run out. It will continue to run out. And the saddest part about this spin and lack of delivery is that the Australian people are paying the price. My community in Casey, and communities all across the country, are paying the price for the failures of the Albanese Labor government. It's only going to get worse and worse as they continue to fail to deliver for all Australians.

Basem Abdo (Calwell, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Owning your own home is a shared dream for most Australians. There is the joy associated with a home, but, importantly, there is a sense of stability and security. I want that for all Australians who aspire to it. We know that people are working hard, doing everything right—saving, renting and sacrificing—and still, for too many, the dream of owning a home seems out of reach.

This is not just an economic challenge; it is about whether Australians feel secure in their future. It is about whether young people believe they can enjoy the opportunities their parents had. It's about whether single parents or young couples starting a family can put down roots in a community they love. That is why the Albanese Labor government has taken bold action. From 1 October this year, three months earlier than promised, every first home buyer will be able to purchase with a five per cent deposit. Single parents will continue to be supported to buy with as little as two per cent. This is about cutting years off the time it takes to save. It is about avoiding thousands of dollars in what is so often inhibitive with the lenders mortgage insurance, and it is about turning rent payments into mortgage payments so people are building equity in their own home.

This policy provides a real opportunity for all Australians looking to buy their first home. For a median priced home in Australia, of around $844,000, it can take up to 13 years to save the old 20 per cent deposit. Thanks to Labor's reforms, that wait is cut by up to eight years. Instead of needing nearly $170,000 up front, a first home buyer would need just $42,000. They will avoid paying around $34,000 in lenders mortgage insurance to a bank. That is not just policy on paper; it is life changing reform for ordinary Australians—a game changer for millions of Australians.

Think of a young apprentice in my community, living at home with their parents while saving for the future. In my community, most often, they don't have access to the bank of mum and dad. They're working hard and putting money aside each week, but with Melbourne's median house price sitting at around $922,500, the old 20 per cent deposit meant needing about $185,000 up front. For many in my electorate that could take more than a decade to save, and by then the dream of homeownership has often slipped away. Under Labor's reforms, that same young worker would need $46,000. Additionally, they'd avoid tens of thousands in mortgage insurance, and, crucially, they'd be investing in their own future sooner instead of paying rent, week after week.

Or take a young family in my electorate, raising kids and saving every spare cent. With the median house price in Calwell at about $832,500, a 20 per cent deposit is almost $167,000. Even families who manage to save that much still face huge barriers because, on top of it, they risk losing another $30,000 to $35,000 in lenders mortgage insurance. This is the fundamental unfairness our government is tackling—the unfairness for Australians who do everything right but still find themselves locked out of homeownership.

In electorates like Calwell, the demand for this scheme is among the highest in the country. This reform is not theory; it's the difference between a dream deferred and a dream realised. In my own electorate, this policy is already making a difference. Between May 2022 and April of this year, 1,430 households in Calwell have taken up the Home Guarantee Scheme. That means another 2,360 people in my community are now homeowners, thanks to Labor's reforms. Calwell has the fifth highest take-up in the entire country. That shows how families in my electorate are responding to the Albanese Labor government's reforms aimed at providing security of homeownership, and it proves that extending this scheme to everyone is the right policy approach.

The fact that Calwell ranks fifth nationally for take-up tells us something, too. Demand is not concentrated in just the inner suburbs of our major cities; it is spread across our suburbs. It's in the outer suburbs, in the regions and in communities right across the country. This is why removing the old income caps and increasing the property caps matters so much. In practice, these changes mean a nurse or a teacher in my community, who may earn just above the previous threshold, will now be eligible. It means that, instead of being restricted to buying a small flat far away from their support networks, first home buyers can now look at homes that meet their needs and reflect real prices in their areas.

These changes are about fairness, but they are also about common sense. They make the scheme usable, accessible and relevant to more Australians. We know this alone won't fix the crisis that has been decades in the making. The long-term solution is to build more homes and to address housing supply. That is why our $43 billion housing agenda includes 55,000 new social and affordable homes, 10,000 homes dedicated to first home buyers, 80,000 long-lease rentals to give renters security and a national aspiration to build 1.2 million homes in five years in partnerships with the states, territories and industry.

We're also backing the workforce with fee-free TAFE and a $10,000 incentive for new apprentices in priority trades so we have the skilled tradies needed to deliver. This is the most ambitious housing program since the Second World War.

In the first term of this government, we took the Commonwealth from being an indifferent, irresponsible bystander under the coalition to being the boldest and most ambitious federal government on housing in generations. We have done this while delivering results. More than 180,000 first home buyers have already used our lower deposit scheme. Around 6,000 more first home buyer loans are in each year under Labor than during the near-decade of coalition government. In the first year alone, Australians are expected to avoid more than $1.5 billion in lenders mortgage insurance costs because of these reforms. This is real money back in the pockets of families, particularly young families. It is real hope restored to those who thought homeownership was beyond reach.

You have to ask: what were those opposite doing in the near-decade they were in government? This housing challenge was avoidable, yet they did nothing about it, preferring to fight culture and climate wars instead of building homes for Australians. Still, those opposite continue to stand in the way. The coalition voted against Help to Buy, they promised to abolish the very scheme that is helping people into homes right now, they refused to back our commitment to 100,000 homes for first home buyers and, after nearly a decade of neglect in office, the opposition have still learnt nothing. They gave us just 373 social and affordable homes in a decade. Contrast that with the half a million built under Labor in just three years. The choice could not be clearer. Labor is on the side of first home buyers; the opposition is not.

Housing is about more than supply-and-demand charts. It is about whether Australians believe that, if they work hard, they can build a better future. With this reform, we are telling first home buyers: The Albanese Labor government is on your side. We will cut the years you need to save. We will stop you being penalised with costly mortgage insurance. We will help you move from renting to owning sooner. This is fairness. This is aspiration. This is Labor making the Australian dream of homeownership real again.

Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On the Gold Coast, families work hard and small businesses sometimes open when their owners get back from a surf, and it's a place where young Australians still dream to have a home that they can call their own. The Liberal and National parties have always stood for that dream: homeownership, personal responsibility and a government that empowers, not controls. We are, and always have been, the party of homeownership.

Under Labor, sadly the dream of homeownership is fast becoming a nightmare. The Minister for Housing, Ms O'Neil, promised that she had a plan. But unfortunately what's been delivered is nothing more than press releases and slogans. We're certainly just towards the end of maiden-speech season, which made me reflect on my own, which I delivered on 4 September 2023. In that speech, I reflected on the importance of homeownership, and I'll read from that speech:

I was fortunate enough to buy my first property during the time of the Howard government … I fear that the great Australian dream is being snatched away. We must strive … to increase homeownership. There is no better way to illustrate the collective ambition of our nation to have individual freedom and responsibility than to have people own their own home. Give as many people as possible the opportunity to have a stake in our nation.

And my feelings on this topic have not wavered. We must strive to give Australians their piece of our nation.

I think there's a lot of focus on housing policy and on what the housing minister has or hasn't done, but I don't want to let the Treasurer off the hook here. One of the little-referred-to barriers is that higher interest rates become a barrier to buying. Your average dual-income family could have the capacity to borrow $100,000 more if interest rates were just one per cent lower. But what we've seen under the Albanese Labor government is that inflation has stayed too high for too long, and the Reserve Bank's response has been that, sadly, for every mortgage-paying Australian and every Australian that dreams of homeownership, mortgage rates have had to stay higher because interest rates must control the mechanisms that are resulting from the Treasurer's high-spending agenda.

We must be realistic about this. Australia is facing a housing crisis, and the Albanese government are the ones to blame. When they took office, their ambitious plan promised 1.2 million homes over five years, and it sounded impressive—until, recently, we of course started to see what's going on in reality. The Housing Industry Association, backed by Treasury, has revealed the truth—that this actually quite modest target is going to be missed by some 400,000 homes. Labor announced the headline-grabbing $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, which, after all the fanfare and all the glossy photo ops, has constructed just 17 homes. To put it bluntly, a $10 billion program delivering just 17 homes is like promising to build a Surfers Paradise high-rise and turning up with a garden shed.

On the Gold Coast, Labor's failure to deliver housing is hitting hard. Families are battling rising rents. House prices keep climbing out of reach. Homebuyers are being pushed further and further away from the communities they grew up in. Renters are living in fear of the next lease renewal, knowing a hike or notice to vacate could upend their lives. The fundamental problem is that Labor has been pushing demand up while supply goes backwards. Net overseas migration topped half a million people last year, the biggest surge in our history, but the number of new homes being built has fallen. This is basic economics. More people but fewer houses equals higher prices, higher rents and ultimately more homeless people when the system fails.

Building homes is not just about turning dirt. It requires affordable materials, a skilled workforce and a planning system that can approve projects quickly, but right now materials are expensive, tradies are in short supply, and approvals are being bogged down in red tape. Instead of fixing those problems, Labor has chosen to clog the system with more bureaucracy, just papering it over with their photo-friendly announcements.

We've heard that one of their great solutions is to freeze the construction code, but over the last three years this government has been addicted to adding regulation. There is not a single regulation that this government doesn't want to just wrap its arms around and bring into the fold. So the freeze has come literally three years too late. When it was served up as an option at the last election, Labor, of course, criticised it, but now they've rebadged it and brought it back as their own idea.

I think, despite the fanfare around housing this week, the Prime Minister knows that his minister is in trouble on this issue. Minister O'Neil used to sit somewhere right over there, not far behind the PM. She's now moved so far down the bench she's practically out the door. In fact, the real measure of her seniority is that she's further away from the PM than the member for Sydney—and we all know what that means: you're really out of favour. I think he sees failure on the horizon. He knows that it's coming, because Minister O'Neil has a track record of failures in foreign affairs, and now she's developing a track record of failures in housing.

In three short years, Labor has presided over the biggest population boom we've seen in the post-war era. When I talked about that housing target earlier, under the coalition government, almost 200,000 homes were being constructed each year. So this wasn't some whopping great ambitious target. It was just for the headline. It should have been able to be delivered by a competent government, but what we've seen is that this government is falling further and further behind. Their target is slipping further and further out of reach. It's slumped now to about 170,000 homes a year, which, quite frankly, is not going to get us there in an environment where we need more not fewer homes.

One of the great things that those opposite love to say is that we didn't have a housing minister during the last coalition government. My good friend the member for Casey, who is a proud Victorian, provided to me earlier documentary evidence to prove this to be completely incorrect. Here's just one fact: the then minister for housing and assistant treasurer, the Hon. Michael Sukkar, put out a press release on 12 September 2019. Interestingly, the topic of this press release was, in fact, the scheme that Labor has rebadged, reheated and reannounced this week. I know how much the Labor Party loved the Hon. Michael Sukkar, and we've heard a lot about how good this policy is this week. They really should be talking up the vision of the Morrison coalition government, because we are clearly the ones who, six years ago, were trying to guide this government towards a solution. I think that a lot of credit should be given to Michael Sukkar for his work in this area. The Australian dream is not to rent nicely; it's to own your own home, and we must get back to that objective.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to speak on this ministerial statement and the motion to take note of the Albanese government's announcement of five per cent deposits for all first home buyers. I listened to the previous speaker. He said our housing policies sounded impressive. They were so impressive, he couldn't bring himself to vote for any of them. That's how impressive they were. They couldn't find a housing bill that we brought into the House that they wanted to support. I'm just a bit bewildered by the previous speaker because he represents a Gold Coast seat in South-East Queensland; I represent a seat based around Ipswich, and we've been growing in population by at least 10,000 every year for the last five or six years. The Gold Coast has about 753,000 people living in it. In 2022, it had 722,000 people living in it, so it's grown by about 30,000 in that period of time.

He should drive along Pacific Highway, go down past Pacific Fair and drive his way down the Gold Coast—I think he represents a seat on the northern Gold Coast. If he goes around Palm Beach, he'll see housing and unit constructions everywhere on the Gold Coast. He must be blind. He sort of reminds me of Russell Hinze, the former National Party cabinet minister, who couldn't see any brothels or casinos through Fortitude Valley during the 'moonlight state'. I don't know where the member for Caldwell has been. The Gold Coast is booming, and housing construction's going up everywhere. This particular motion is all about housing construction. If he comes to my electorate, he'll see the Greater Springfield area—the member for Oxley also represents Springfield; we share it—and I've got Ripley Valley. Houses are going up everywhere in these areas. The housing problems we've got in this country are not new, but the member for Caldwell must have been blind for a long time and mustn't be looking around anywhere. He must be the Russell Hinze of the LNP in Queensland, because he can't see houses anywhere.

It's very challenging, we know, for Australians to find the opportunity to get into a first home, and that's what we've got in an area like the Ripley Valley, where, of course, the average age is about 26.

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

Member for Blair, to be clear, it's the member for Fadden, not Caldwell. I made the same mistake.

Shayne Neumann (Blair, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The member for Fadden—I am sorry. Fadden is an area on the northern Gold Coast. If the member for Fadden drives a bit south, he might see all the houses and units going up on the Gold Coast. Too many people have been working very hard and trying to save, but the dream of homeownership is out of their reach. We know that. In the 1970s, it took about four times the average yearly wage to get a first home, but we're talking about 10 times now. People in my area do it tough. They don't usually have the bank of mum and dad. They're working-class and middle-class people who aspire to a better life for themselves and their kids. They're not from rich backgrounds. They have to do it tough, and they save as hard as they can. They're worried that they can't get a foothold in the market. They can't. They struggle.

Our housing commitments of $43 billion contrast directly with the $5 billion commitment of those opposite in the campaign. I've got to admit, at Bundamba State Secondary College, I was better at humanities and anything you could write an essay on. But $43 billion is a lot more than $5 billion. Those opposite really couldn't bring themselves to support our policies. They might think they sound impressive now, but they didn't vote for them. In our first term, we made significant progress. They failed to acknowledge it. Over 180,000 Australians have now bought their first home with a five per cent deposit under the Home Guarantee Scheme. Since our government was elected, 3,416 people in my local community have been able to get into homeownership with the backing of our five per cent deposit scheme, which shows just how popular it's been in Ipswich and surrounds.

In fact, earlier this year, the Home Guarantee Scheme trends and insights report said that one in three first home buyers took up the scheme in 2023-24 and that it helped a range of participants get into a home sooner. So we're expanding the scheme. For example, more than 50 per cent of eligible buyers were women and more than 50 per cent were under 30. I can distinctly recall, when standing at prepoll, people telling me, as they were coming in to the Ipswich south prepoll at Whitehill Church of Christ, that they were voting Labor because of our housing policies. That's the reason. I remember someone saying: 'Who's got the five per cent deposit? Shayne, I'm taking your how-to-vote card.' I remember debating on a number of occasions my LNP opponent who was running against me. They couldn't bring themselves to talk about housing. They had no policies. Their idea was a bit of help with the local council. But multiply $5 billion by eight and you still won't get to $43 billion.

There's a constituent of mine, Taryn Compton, who has been able to get into a home in Redbank Plains, the biggest superb in Ipswich, thanks to the scheme. She's a young mother and she's praised the scheme publicly in the local media. She recommended the scheme and credited it with making homeownership a reality for her and her family. Previously living on the Gold Coast, she saw the light and came to Ipswich, by the way. She was looking for a place that was big enough for her and her five sons. She was able to buy a home in Ipswich after learning about the scheme from her mortgage broker. Taryn is very grateful for the assistance, and she believes the program makes homeownership possible for many people who wouldn't normally be able to buy a house. On top of this, half a million homes have been built, new housing approvals are up 30 per cent, and we've got 28,000 social and affordable homes in planning or construction.

We know the key to addressing Australia's housing crisis is building more homes quickly, and that's why we're focusing on supply. Let's be clear, it's generally very hard for young people and others to get into homes. That's why, this week, the Prime Minister and the Minister for Housing announced that we're going to expand the five per cent deposit scheme, first announced in the lead-up to the federal election. It's going to be available to all first home buyers. We're going to deliver the election commitment three months earlier, starting from 1 October this year. From 1 October, every first home buyer will only need a five per cent deposit. It's going to take years off the time it takes for someone to save for a deposit. It's going to help them get into their homes much sooner.

For the average first home buyer, this will cut the time needed to save a deposit to just a few years. They won't have to pay a single dollar in mortgage insurance. There are no income limits and no limits on places, and house price caps better reflect the cost of homes where they wish to live. The expanded scheme means a first home buyer in Brisbane can purchase a $1 million home with a $50,000 deposit. They could save up to 10 years off the time it takes for them to get their deposit. They can save about $42,000 in mortgage insurance and they could pay up to $350,000 towards their own loan instead of paying rent. It's a real game-changer for young people and a vote-changer—those who are stuck in the corner opposite don't realise that. All of us who speak to young people in our communities hear about the fact that the 20 per cent deposit is the main barrier for the next generation in getting access to homeownership.

The expansion of this five per cent scheme will change lives. This will mean tens of thousands of additional Australians will get security, stability and the joy that you have when you buy your first home. I know it was the case for my wife and I when we bought our first home, in Pine Street in Flinders View. We've lived in that suburb in a number of different homes ever since we've been married. We could have done with that support. We had to save really hard, and we sure made sacrifices to get there. We're tackling housing affordability on every single front. Supply is critical. We're delivering Australia's biggest ever boost to supply, notwithstanding what those opposite may say—'Having eyes, do you not see?' Half a million homes have already been built and new housing approvals are up 30 per cent. We've got 28,000 social and affordable homes in planning or construction today.

There is a fundamental difference between the Labor Party, which believes in social and affordable houses, and the coalition. There are the Help to Buy and Home Guarantee schemes. Those opposite wouldn't support the Home Guarantee Scheme. They voted against Help to Buy. Fundamentally, the Liberal and National parties do not believe that the federal government has a role in social and affordability housing. Their idea is class conflict and class warfare. They accuse us of this all the time. When it comes to housing, their views are just the same as their views on industrial relations—always siding with the rich, never siding with the poor; never siding with the middle class, always siding with the billionaires.

Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I remember as Deputy Prime Minister going up around the Ipswich area and looking at the home development projects that were going ahead under the former coalition government. I visited there with Liberal-National Party senator Paul Scarr. There they were, the homeowners and first home buyers of Ipswich—constituents of the member for Blair, in fact—benefiting from those housing policies like the home buyer scheme put in place and contributed by the member for Deakin, the Minister for Housing. Labor come in here and they talk a big, big game about a trillion dollars worth of Liberal Party debt—not true. They talk about the fact that we didn't have a housing minister—not true. They think to themselves that, if they say it often enough, people will start to believe it. They in fact will start to believe it themselves, and it's just not true.

What we've got here in Australia is a situation where net overseas migration in 2023 was 446,000. What we're getting at the moment, according to the ABS, is 1,221 new migrants coming into Australia every day. And Labor talks about having 1.2 million homes built under its policies. Good luck with that! Good luck with housing all the migrants who are coming in—migrants who would fill many or most of the country towns in my Riverina electorate in a day or three. That's what we are seeing. We are seeing the equivalent of country towns flying in to Australia each and every day. The difficulty is that many of them, most of them, almost all of them, are going to our capital cities, primarily Sydney and Melbourne. The problem is we've got Labor leaders in those two states who say that the answer to our housing crisis is to go up. It is to build higher high-rises. This is ridiculous.

Aside from the Housing Australia Investment Mandate Amendment (Delivering on Our 2025 Election Commitment) Direction 2025—I always love the titles that Labor give their bills—we need to have a vision in this country. We need to have a good hard considered look at population policy. When it comes to finding houses, we've got the leaders of our state governments, our state parliaments, talking about building high-density housing, taking over all the sporting fields, the racecourses, the rugby fields and the golf courses and filling them up with more apartments. They've got to actually ask themselves: where is this going to lead? It's going to lead to more congestion, more pollution in our capital cities and, when people don't have room to move and air to breathe and they're all foisted in on top of one another, I dare say higher crime too.

Why don't we have a population roundtable? Forget the waste of time of the productivity roundtable, that talkfest we held in Canberra last week. Let's have a population roundtable where we get states and demographers and the Bernard Salts of the world in to talk about where we are headed as a nation as far as population is concerned. When we had that dreadful global pandemic, many people turned to the country areas—to go and live there. They loved it. They had a backyard and room to move in country towns that were big enough to get a good cup of coffee but small enough to still care. Yet we seem to have forgotten all that. Now we've got state leaders just wanting to build apartments, block upon block upon block upon each other.

Sharon Claydon (Newcastle, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The debate is interrupted in accordance with standing order 43. The debate may be resumed at a later hour, and the member will certainly be given leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed.