Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Housing, Minister for Homelessness and Minister for Cities. What is the Albanese Labor government doing to build more houses in the regions and help more regional Australians into homeownership after a decade of neglect?

Clare O'Neil (Hotham, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Housing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

What a delight it is to get this fantastic question from the member for Gilmore. Partly because of her advocacy, 667 of her constituents have gotten into homeownership with the backing of the Albanese government—and there are many more to come. She's a brilliant representative.

Australia's housing challenge is significant, and it is not a burden that falls on only our city Australians. We see significant housing challenges across the regions and in the bush, and after a decade of complete neglect of housing as an issue for the country, our government is delivering with a level of ambition that we have not seen by a Commonwealth government since the Second World War. It is a huge agenda: $45 billion targeted on three big things. We're building more homes around the country, we're getting renters a better deal and we are getting more Australians into homeownership. Our government's five per cent deposit program is incredibly popular with that community of young people who are just trying to get extra support to get into a home of their own. We are now up to 220,000 Australians who have keys to their first home with the backing of the Albanese government

Of those Australians, 73,000 have been people who live in the regions and in the bush. We've got $1.5 billion in housing infrastructure funding. It's going to roads, to sewerage, to water and to all those critical aspects that make housing possible. The vast majority of that funding has gone straight into the regions. We are building homes right around rural and regional Australia. In fact, round 3 of the Housing Australia Future Fund includes, for the first time, a dedicated regional stream to make sure we're servicing that constituency. We've got social and affordable homes being built in Tamworth, South Grafton, Shepparton, Armidale, Wangaratta and many more places.

The member asked me about alternatives, and we have seen some shockers in the time that I've been in parliament. For nine long years, those opposite sat on the benches behind me and decided to do nothing about what many Australians believe is the most important issue in their lives. As you know, Speaker, they were so checked out of housing as an issue they couldn't even be bothered having a housing minister. Now, that had real consequences. We see the Nationals in the parliament this week scratching their heads about why their voters are deserting them in droves. Maybe it's because they did nothing to deliver for regional Australians when they had the levers of power.

Speaker, do you know how many social and affordable homes those opposite built in regional and rural Australia? It was none. It's a party that says it stands up for the regions, but not a single home was built in regional Victoria, regional New South Wales or regional Western Australia. It is no wonder Australians are looking for alternatives. We're united, we're delivering and we're delivering right across the country.