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

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that:

(a) on 1 October 2025, the Government expanded the 5 per cent deposit scheme to all Australian first home buyers, three months ahead of schedule; and

(b) more than 220,000 Australians have now bought their first home with a small deposit of 5 per cent or less thanks to the expanded 5 per cent deposit scheme;

(2) acknowledges that this housing challenge has been 40 years in the making, thanks in part to underinvestment and under-delivery of previous governments; and

(3) commends the Government's $45 billion housing agenda, which is focused on building more homes, making it easier to buy, and making it better to rent.

I welcome the opportunity to move this motion on Australia's housing challenge. Housing has become one of the defining pressures on the lives of Australians. For many, working hard, playing by the rules and building careers hasn't translated into securing a stable place to live. I hear it from young people who did everything that they were told would set them up for success—study, steady work and disciplined saving—yet they doubt they'll ever own a home. I hear it from parents who were able to buy early in life and now worry their children won't have the same foundation of security. I hear it from renters absorbing relentless increases and facing tough choices about where they live, how far they commute and what they go without. I know it from family. I hear it from my community. I've seen it from firsthand experience.

This challenge has been building for decades. As it intensified under the coalition's decade of neglect, the Commonwealth stood back, abandoning the responsibility of meeting the challenge through leadership and national coordination. We recognise that a challenge of this scale, built up over decades, will not be solved overnight. Under the Albanese Labor government, the Commonwealth is back at the table, marking a significant change in federal involvement in housing. Our ambitious $45 billion plan for housing is focused on three areas to ensure that hard work once again delivers the security of a home—building more homes, making it easier to buy and making it better for renters. It is the boldest, most ambitious and substantial housing agenda pursued by a Commonwealth government since the postwar era, and it is being rolled out right across Australia and in my own community.

Labor's five per cent deposit scheme reduces one of the biggest barriers to ownership. It allows eligible buyers to enter the market sooner without waiting years to save a 20 per cent upfront deposit. In Calwell, the impact has been clear, with real progress on the ground and on delivery. Since Labor came to government, 3,912 people in my electorate to date have purchased their first home with a five per cent deposit. That means 3,912 households and families no longer stuck on the sidelines trying to chase a moving target—thousands of families who have secured a home and begun paying down their own mortgage. It is the fundamentally life-changing reality of homeownership—a set of keys, a stable roof over their head and, finally, a measure of certainty about where they will live in the years ahead.

When it comes to home building, we've got an ambitious national target of 1.2 million new homes to address the key issue of housing supply. To help Australia get there, we're cutting red tape, delivering new infrastructure and training more tradies right across the country. Lifting housing supply depends on having the skilled workforce to build it. It's why we're backing skills training for tradies with practical measures to grow the pipeline of qualified tradies needed to get more homes built. There are 1,765 apprentices in Calwell, many benefiting from apprentice support payments. We're back in the game of building more social and affordable housing, working with the state government to deliver 121 new and refurbished social homes in my community.

While we're getting on with the job of delivering for communities like mine, helping thousands achieve the dream of homeownership, the coalition have given up on them and opposed every single measure. They voted against Help to Buy. They opposed our build-to-rent plan, the 80,000 new and affordable long-term leases and our $10 billion plan for 100,000 new homes reserved for first home buyers. They voted against five per cent deposits and they opposed secure rentals, smaller mortgages, building new homes for first home buyers and lower deposits that are right now helping tens of thousands of Australians into homeownership. While we build more homes, support first home buyers, back our tradies and provide cost-of-living and rent relief, those opposite have opposed the measures that make it possible. Where they have chosen obstruction, we remain focused on delivery, expanding supply, strengthening opportunity and backing the aspirations of Australians. I commend the motion to the House.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is the motion seconded?

Alice Jordan-Baird (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

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

This is an important motion because it seeks to effectively give the government a pat on the back for housing, when in actual fact we know that they're failing quite broadly on housing. What we do know for sure is that the minister has absolutely no solutions to this problem. She continues to talk about this aspirational plan that they have to deliver 1.2 million homes. She continues to talk about the $45 billion spend, but in reality, out there, every day Australians are finding it harder and harder to buy a home. They are finding it harder and harder to keep a roof over their heads because their mortgages are so high and their rent has escalated so dramatically.

The coalition believes that we must restore homeownership as the centrepiece of the Australian dream. Under Labor, the great Australian dream is fast turning into a nightmare. We know that this minister was hopeless in Home Affairs in the last term of this government and now we see she is hopeless with homes. Today we've got the new backbenchers here––which is great––sent in to do her bidding on all of this, which is really quite catastrophic for Australians. For example, the motion says that the housing crisis has been 40 years in the making, when what we know to be true is that, actually, it's only been four years under this Labor government. It's time for this Labor government to front up to the Australian people and be honest about how they're tracking. They're actually failing each and every Australian.

What we've got today is their entire housing wisdom on display. Minister O'Neil and Treasurer Chalmers are the two people who the Prime Minister has decided are going to solve this issue. We know the minister's track record, but Treasurer Chalmers, of course, has something special going on today; it's his birthday. The member for Calwell will well know what Treasurer Chalmers would like for his birthday––higher taxes. What we will see for the Treasurer's birthday, no doubt, is that at some point all of these discussions, this banter and the speculation about taxes on housing will probably come to fruition in order to celebrate the great Treasurer. But we all know that higher taxes will equal fewer houses. That's why this combination of Minister O'Neil and the Treasurer is such a dangerous combination. Their track record so far is that renters are struggling because rents have gone up 22 per cent under this Labor government. Every mortgage holder in Australia, because of higher-than-expected inflation and higher-than-necessary inflation, is seeing higher interest rates. That means thousands and thousands of dollars more for each and every Australian who's just trying to pay a mortgage.

The really scary thing is that recent real estate data would suggest that homeownership is now less affordable than it's ever been through most of our capital cities. The minister continues to spruik the 1.2 million home build that will be delivered, but what we see is absolute failure. We've seen that they've fallen 80,000 homes short of their target just over the first year and a bit. Every quarter that goes by, this carrot that they're holding out for all Australians—that there'll be homes there for them—is being dangled further and further away. It is absolutely unachievable.

The last point I want to make—this is a little game here for the member for Calwell; he can play if he likes. How do you spell 'runaway construction costs'? CFMEU.

No, I asked to spell, Member for Calwell––CFMEU. If there were ever a single reason why costs of construction have blown out, it's them, and we've now got report after report confirming those blowouts.

Alice Jordan-Baird (Gorton, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Let me tell you a little bit about the community I represent in Melbourne's western suburbs, the place I call home. Gorton stretches from Mount Cottrell in the south-west all the way to Keilor in the northern corner. If you look at a map of the electorate today and a map of the electorate 20 years ago, you'll notice they look very different to one another. Suburbs like Fraser Rise, Truganina and Plumpton didn't exist not so long ago. They've popped up across our community, and these suburbs make up the western growth corridor, full of new housing developments. That's because we're one of the fastest growing electorates in the country, where young families are moving in to build homes and to plan for their futures.

Gorton is one of the youngest electorates in the country, too, with a median age of 35. We have more than 40,000 residents between the ages of 25 and 39. I speak to young people in my community every day. They're people who are at the stage of life when settling down and starting a family is front of mind. They're good people, full of ambition—hardworking Aussies who are building a future for themselves and for their families.

But the future they envision and the future they deserve has been out of reach for too long. Because of the neglect of the previous coalition governments, homeownership was not a dream everyone could aspire to. I've spoken to people in my community who told me they couldn't think of a world where renting wasn't their only option, and these young people are not alone in their anxieties about the future. Housing is a life-defining challenge for millions of Australians today. Too many young Australians are being locked out of the housing market. Too many young Australians feel that homeownership is out of reach. Too many young Australians feel that they have no choice but to confront a future they can't plan for. And that's not right.

This housing challenge has been a generation in the making. For decades, this problem has been shafted to the states. When the coalition were in government for almost a decade, they were negligent when it came to housing. This problem can't be tackled overnight. But, unlike previous coalition governments, we are addressing this issue. We're not leaving the issue of homeownership for an entire generation of Australians all up to the states to try and fix. We're taking a hand in it, and we've brought the federal government back to the table. That's why I'm proud to report the success of the Albanese Labor government's five per cent deposit scheme. We're already delivering and seeing real results right across the country, like for hardworking Aussies in my own community.

I stand here today to tell you that my electorate of Gorton, in Melbourne's western suburbs, has one of the highest uptakes of the five per cent deposit scheme in the country. Since we came to government, 3,119 people in my electorate have bought their first home with just a five per cent deposit. How good is that? That's over 3,000 people in my community who have gotten their foot into the housing market—their own property, a future they can plan for, a future they'll raise their family in. Make no mistake, this is fundamentally life-changing, and it matters massively in my community. We were able to deliver on this promise three months ahead of schedule, opening the door sooner to first home buyers. When it comes to home building, we've got an ambitious national target of 1.2 million new homes. To help Australia get there, we're cutting red tape, delivering new infrastructure and training more tradies across the country.

I know that, for more homes, we need better infrastructure—like better roads—and that's exactly why we've committed a billion dollars to upgrade the Western Freeway between Melton and Caroline Springs. And, in March last year, we announced $300 million for the Calder Park Drive Interchange on the Calder freeway, making things a lot safer for our community as we continue to grow.

Every day, I'm reminded of how privileged I am to live and work in Melbourne's western suburbs and to represent our wonderful community. I'm so proud that, thanks to Labor's five per cent deposit scheme, more people in our community and around the country can finally own their own homes. Homeownership is life-changing, and, for those over 3000 people in our community of Gorton, homeownership is no longer just a dream.

Andrew Willcox (Dawson, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Manufacturing and Sovereign Capability) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

():  Two hundred and twenty thousand is a big number, a big number that the Albanese Labor government is now on the hook for. I'm glad the member for Calwell is acknowledging the housing crisis that Australia is facing, because—make no mistake—housing in this country is in crisis.

After four years of Labor, housing has become a crisis, and it's getting worse. Demand has grown rapidly, while supply has fallen sharply. While the government pats itself on the back for backing in loans for kids of millionaires, more Australians are finding themselves homeless. Families are living in tents. The number of people sleeping rough is growing. Young Australians trying to find their way in this world are staring down the barrel of a lifetime of perpetual renting. Entry-level homes are now 70 per cent more expensive than they were five years ago.

Lower deposit rates and greater buying power for first home buyers will not fix the housing crisis. Labor must fix the supply-and-demand imbalance. Labor needs to build more homes quickly and efficiently. This means cutting red tape and green tape to get approvals flowing and construction happening. It means giving people a reason to build and a reason to invest. Labor must open up the supply and urgently put downward pressure on the number of people coming into this country, who then compete for the shrinking number of homes that are available. Five per cent doesn't sound like much, but, with the median house price in Australia having now surpassed $1 million, you still need a $50,000 deposit. With rent spiralling and the cost of living rising, how is anyone on a lower income or even an average income meant to save 50 grand? If this imbalance isn't corrected fast, it won't be long before a five per cent deposit catches up to what a 20 per cent deposit is today.

Since the government expanded the five per cent deposit scheme, last October, the average house price has continued to climb, and interest rates are again heading north. The scheme has done nothing but fuel demand and turbocharge property prices, making it even harder to get into the market. With inflation surging and interest rates continuing to rise, many participants in the scheme risk falling into mortgage stress. If they default, the government and, ultimately, the taxpayer have the liability as guarantors. Worse still, these buyers could be locked out of the market for good, unable to access their first home concessions again in the future, while struggling to recover financially. Some are lucky—they have the bank of mum and dad for a loan or even a cash gift to get them into the market, but what about those who don't? What about those Australians who dream of homeownership but do not have that safety net? As prices continue to soar, that $50,000 deposit will need to increase. And what about those who were once homeowners but have fallen off the property ladder—perhaps someone who has gone through a life-changing divorce or someone who has little left? First home buyer schemes don't help those people.

It is clear the Labor government is struggling. They're having Treasury review the numbers on capital gains. They're not doing it in the hope of opening up supply; they're simply looking for extra tax revenue. Let's be honest about the impact of reducing the current discount. In a market where rents are rising and returns remain strong, investors will have even less reason to exit and to sell up to potential homeowners. If the goal is to free up existing housing stock, policy should encourage turnover, not discourage it through heavier taxation.

We need homes for every Australian. We need housing policy that creates the conditions for people to enter the market and stay there. We need a housing policy that accelerates approval, increases building productivity and incentivises private investment. Housing policy must be more than writing cheques and announcing big numbers. It must focus on getting the supply right and ensuring it keeps pace with demand. You can't fix a housing shortage by giving government guarantees instead of building houses. Labor needs to get the supply right, get the demand right, get the houses built and get homes for all Australians.

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

I bought my first house in 2017, when I was 35. I'd been living overseas for almost the past decade—actually in the beautiful part of the world that the member for Calwell is from. I was seeing the world, working hard and having unforgettable experiences that shaped the person I am today. I came back to Adelaide in late 2016, and it was necessary for me to move back in with my parents. But, having lived out of home in various rental properties and share houses 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 play, to cook what I wanted when I wanted, to buy the type of furniture I liked and to create a little garden in a small backyard. So being back home with mum and dad was a very strong motivation to try and buy a house, and I ended up buying the second house that 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 meant so much to me—and still does—because it was mine. I worked hard to save to buy it. No-one helped me. My parents are hardworking people, but they didn't have the money to help me buy a house. 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 wherever I had been, and turned onto 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, the knowledge that I was building my future and that I would have security of housing, a roof over my head, and in Adelaide, a place that I love.

That feeling, that kick, that thrill, that sense of pride, is what I want for all Australians—to feel that sense of security as they drive up their street, as they drive up their driveway, as they get out of the car and unlock the front door to their own home. I want Australians to be able to put down roots in a community, to feel the pride and the sense of relief that I felt when I was able to access the housing market. When I bought my house, I had a good job and a good income, and I remember thinking: 'Gosh, this is actually really expensive. This is crazy. I can't believe what I paid and how long it took me to save for a 20 per cent deposit.' But time has passed since then, and it has gotten more expensive. We know this. It's 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 find ourselves in was decades in the making, and there is no quick fix.

The Albanese Labor government understands this. It understands that housing is a life-defining challenge for so many Australians and that people are working hard, saving and sacrificing and they still can't afford their own home. This is not fair, because secure housing is a right. This is why the Albanese Labor government has a $45 billion three-pronged plan of attack to build more homes, to make it easier to buy and to make it easier for renters. It is a case of building more houses—we need more houses—and that is why Labor has an ambitious target of 1.2 million new homes within the next five years. But this is a challenge, and this is why we are taking steps to ease red tape, to make land and building approvals easier, to reform the building and construction code, to make it easier for builders to build the homes that we need. This is where free TAFE comes in, free TAFE for those in the building and construction industry, because we know that we need more houses and houses don't build themselves. We need highly skilled, highly qualified tradespeople to do that work so that young Australians can get into a home to secure their future.

In South Australia, almost 8,000 people, including hundreds of people in my electorate of Sturt, have taken advantage of Labor's five per cent deposit scheme—not 20 per cent; five per cent—giving them a foot on the property ladder and getting them into their own home so they too can now buy the furniture that they like, play the music they like and get a couple of pets. Most importantly, they're going to get the same kick, the same thrill, that I did every time I drove up my driveway and turned the key to open the door to my own home. A five per cent deposit means that the life-changing prospect of homeownership is now within reach for many more Australians, and that matters to people in every community in every part of this country.

Elizabeth Watson-Brown (Ryan, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Both major parties have contributed to the absolute disaster that is our housing crisis here in Australia. It's decades of underfunding of public and social housing. In the postwar period, we were building up to 25 per cent of our housing stock as public and social housing. Now, public housing waitlists skyrocket while those in the greatest need are forced into the private rental market. It's the tax concessions for property investors. The capital gains tax discount introduced by the Howard government has absolutely skyrocketed inequality. Sixty per cent of the benefit flows to the top one per cent. That's $12.7 billion a year.

But Labor's latest policy innovation has sent prices skyrocketing even further: bigger mortgages for first home buyers. If you're a renter, saving a deposit is an even more distant goal. If you saved up for a house deposit last year, no, you didn't. That's what last week's data shows. Over the last year, the amount of time it takes to save up for a deposit increased by almost a year. Let me say that again. If you spent last year saving for a deposit, it is very likely that you are no closer to that deposit, because house prices have increased by so much. It's like the property industry has attached a long stick and a string to your head, whacked a house shaped carrot at the end and told you to start running.

Someone from the government might interject at this point—maybe they will—and say that they've allowed people to buy a house with a five per cent deposit. Great—some people get the carrot by paying 50 per cent of their income to service a truly diabolical debt. Meanwhile, the stick just got longer for everyone else, because this policy has pushed up house prices. That's a fact. If that were my policy, I'd certainly be embarrassed about it.

If there has ever been an example of how our political establishment has failed this country, you have to look no further than the housing market. Labor and the Liberals—and, on this question, they're the same—since the 1980s have both decided that housing is a commodity, not a place to live, not a right. They've deregulated the banks. They've introduced massive tax incentives for property investors. They've decimated public housing, which at least offered a competitive pressure on private housing. That is the Australia that they have built, a system designed to benefit the big banks and wealthy asset owners—not ordinary people, who are spending more and more of their income just trying to put a roof over their heads.

At this point, they're not even trying to hide it. The architect of Labor's housing policy that's driving up house prices and creating enormous profits for the big banks now works for one of those very big banks. The housing minister's top policy adviser, who played a central role in creating the five per cent deposit scheme—which has saddled first home buyers with enormous debt and sent house prices skyrocketing—has now accepted a role as executive manager, group strategy, at the Commonwealth Bank.

In Brisbane, house prices are set to increase by another 20 per cent over the next two years. In some areas, like Moggill in my electorate, prices have doubled in the last five years, and I don't need to tell you this is far outpacing wage growth. It's an absolute disaster. It's a generational disaster.

The policies of both major parties have caused this—underinvestment in public and social housing and the tax breaks for property investors. But it's Labor's five per cent deposit scheme that's kept that gravy train—house prices increasing even more—going. The scheme is literally designed as a gift to the banks. They get to lend more to people and collect more interest payments, but they're not taking any of the risk of that extra lending. No, that's on us; that's on the taxpayers. We're going to have to bail out the banks if any of this goes sideways.

How many meetings did he have with Commonwealth Bank lobbyists while he was in his role? Was he lining up this new job while crafting the devastating pro-bank policy? I think the people of Australia really deserve to know.

Gabriel Ng (Menzies, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak about one of the most pressing issues facing people, especially younger people, in my electorate of Menzies: housing. Over the last 20 years, homeownership rates have declined across Australia, most sharply amongst young Australians. Amongst 30- to 34-year-olds, ownership fell from 57 per cent to 50 per cent between 2001 and 2021. Amongst 25- to 29-year-olds, it has dropped from 43 per cent to 36 per cent. We cannot continue on this trajectory. Homeownership sits at the heart of intergenerational inequality. In 2002 the median dwelling price was 4.4 times the median income. Today it is 8.9 times. There's no denying it is harder to buy a house and harder to save for a deposit.

As co-chair of Parliamentary Friends of Housing, I am committed to ensuring Australians have access to affordable, secure and quality homes. After nine long years of neglect and drift on housing policy by those opposite, our government is tackling the housing crisis. For most of those nine years the Liberal-National coalition did not have a housing policy. They did not even have a housing minister for most of the time they were in government. They only built 373 social and affordable homes while, across the country, waiting lists for those in most need of secure shelter ballooned. That is why the Albanese Labor government is acting.

Our home guarantee scheme allows first home buyers to enter the market sooner by requiring only a five per cent deposit or, for single parents, a two per cent deposit. This reduces the time needed to save for a deposit from around a decade to just a couple of years. For the people of Menzies, this is already making a difference. In my electorate, 420 people have purchased their first home with a deposit of five per cent or less through this program.

We are also increasing the supply of social and affordable housing. Through the Housing Australia Future Fund, 102 homes in Box Hill are being delivered in the first funding round. In addition, new and refurbished social homes are being delivered across Manningham and Whitehorse local government areas through the social housing accelerator, providing support to some of those most in need, such as those fleeing domestic and family violence.

Support is also being provided for renters. We have delivered consecutive increases in Commonwealth rent assistance, lifting maximum rates by almost 50 per cent since coming to government. In my electorate alone, 5,315 people have now received this support. We are also expanding long-term affordable rentals through our build-to-rent program, with 425 new homes in Menzies under construction or in planning.

While we know there is still more work to do, this represents real progress. For the people of Menzies, it shows that we are serious about delivering on housing. Whenever I'm doorknocking or speaking with residents at local street stalls, housing is the issue young people raise most often. Many say they fear homeownership is permanently out of reach. I hear similar concerns from those in their 30s or 40s with families, including those in dual-income households, who still struggle to buy in well-located communities. I hear it from the parents of young people as well. They fear their children will never be able to live close to them and that they won't be able to play a role in raising their grandchildren.

Housing is a fundamental human need. Ensuring access to secure housing is a responsibility governments must take seriously. Since coming to office, the Albanese Labor government has advanced the most comprehensive housing agenda in decades. More than 220,000 Australians have entered homeownership through the five per cent deposit program nationwide—that is, more than 220,000 hardworking Australians have overcome a massive, life-changing hurdle when it comes to owning a home.

Our broader housing agenda represents a $45 billion investment focused on building more homes, making purchasing easier and improving rental security. We are working with the states and territories and with industry to meet a national target of 1.2 million new homes. Around 500,000 homes have already been completed, since 2022, and tens of thousands more are in planning or construction. I am proud to be part of a government focused on practical action and real outcomes. For the people of Menzies, this work is about restoring confidence in secure housing and homeownership. It's about making sure that those remain achievable goals for Australians who work hard and contribute to their communities. I'm proud to be part of a government that understands the needs of Australians and takes actions to support them.

Kate Chaney (Curtin, Independent) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to speak on the motion presented by the member for Calwell, in which he congratulates the Labor Party for doing something in relation to housing—specifically, allowing first home owners to borrow more money than they would otherwise be able to by putting down only a five per cent deposit. Two hundred and twenty thousand Australians have taken up this offer, and I understand why they took up that offer—because they have no choice—and good for them, sort of. They now have a home, but they also have bigger debts. Let's not kid ourselves that this policy actually addresses the housing crisis. It just throws more fuel on the fire. It means more people can borrow more money, driving prices up. It's basic economics. If there's more money available, prices go up. Don't get me wrong, I want to see housing policy to address intergenerational inequity, but it will need to be bold, and this isn't it. This changes who gets into the lifeboat first and increases the cost of a seat in the lifeboat, but it doesn't create more lifeboats.

Housing access and affordability are now the biggest issue I hear about. Two weeks ago, when I was out doorknocking in Scarborough, people stood at their front doors and told me how worried they are about their children and grandchildren being locked out of the market entirely, or they shared their own concerns about rising interest rates and their housing stress. Last week at UWA orientation day, I asked new first-year uni students what issues concerned them most. Housing was their No. 1 issue, both in our gumnut poll and in our more detailed online survey. When I was a uni student, it didn't cross my mind that I wouldn't be able to find a house eventually. My then boyfriend lived in a comfortable share house with the support of Austudy and a part-time job. That's now pretty much impossible. Even my youth advisory group, made up of year 11s from all the schools in my electorate, are concerned about their future housing prospects. That shouldn't have to be your biggest concern when you're 16.

I find it hard to tell these young people that the solution is to let them borrow more money, to let them become more leveraged, to take on more risks so that they can pay the ever-increasing prices for the houses that their parents and grandparents could easily afford. So what should be done? Well, there's no silver bullet, but there are plenty of ideas focused on increasing supply and levelling the playing field so new homeowners and renters get a fair go. Part of this has to be changing the tax settings. I've been engaging with my community to gauge the level of appetite for reforming capital gains tax and negative gearing. It's a complex issue, but I'm getting a strong message from my community that people can see that these settings are no longer fair for young Australians who simply cannot compete in a market where tax structures favour investors. Across doorknocks, community forums in person and online, and surveys, the message is clear: we need a fairer system that gives the next generation a genuine chance at homeownership, and that means being honest about what's working and what's not.

Reform to housing taxes is just one of 15 ideas in our Curtin housing policy developed through community workshops, surveys and expert input. Here are a couple of others. We need to build more social and affordable housing. In 1983, there were 14 social housing approvals for every 100 private builds. Today, that figure is just 1.7 per 100, a dramatic decline that's left the bottom rung of the housing ladder dangerously thin. The HAFF is a start, but more needs to be done. We need to allow more medium-density housing in appropriate areas. Planning and zoning processes take too long. Medium density needs to be done with local consultation so we build communities that people want to live in. When Auckland reformed its zoning laws, it saw a four per cent increase in housing stock. We must protect renters. With house prices unlikely to fall sharply in the short term, more Australians will be renting for longer. They need basic, nationally consistent protections so they can live with stability and dignity while they save, study or raise families.

There are 11 more ideas in my Curtin housing policy on my website. As we head towards the government's next budget, the real test is whether those in power will show the political courage to act. We won't fix this problem by allowing first home buyers to borrow more money. Housing is the foundation of security, opportunity and community. People in Curtin and across the country are calling for bold action because every Australian deserves a safe, secure place to call home.

Rebekha Sharkie (Mayo, Centre Alliance) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

There being no further speakers, the debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made in order of the day for the next sitting.