Kara Cook (Bonner, 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. How is the Albanese Labor government tackling the housing challenges facing the country? What other approaches are there?

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

What a pleasure to get this question from the wonderful member for Bonner. She is so passionate about housing and, particularly, about making sure that we have proper supports in place for women and children fleeing family violence. It's been an absolute pleasure to work with her in the time that she's been in the parliament.

Our national housing challenge is affecting the lives of many people around our country. Australians are doing everything right. They're saving up, they're planning for the future and they're thinking in advance. Yet they still reach a point—often much later in their lives than we would like—where they're not able to get that foothold in the housing market that they deserve. It is for those families that our government has built the boldest and most ambitious agenda a Commonwealth government has had on housing since the postwar period. We have got a long way to go on this, but, by God, we are making progress: 570,000 homes built since we came to office, 6,000 social and affordable homes completed and 24,000 in planning or construction today. Every single renter in our country has improved rental standards because of the leadership of our prime minister. We've got hundreds of thousands of Australians out of renting and into their first home.

And we're seeing approvals turn a corner, up seven per cent year on year. I'm asked about alternative approaches. Opposite us sit three right-wing parties: the Liberals, the Nationals and One Nation. They say that they have differences. But—I can tell you—when it comes to housing, they look all the same to me. They say that they care. They say they care about supplies—

Milton Dick (Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We're not just having a free for all, no matter what type of question it is. The member for Page is warned. He won't say one more word for the remainder of this answer, or he won't be here to hear the remainder of the answer. The minister deserves the courtesy of being heard in silence.

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

These three parties say that they care. They say they care about supply and they say they care about supporting first home buyers. But when it actually comes time to act, what do they do? They say no. They say no to 30,000 social and affordable homes under the Housing Australia Future Fund. They say no to unlocking 80,000 homes through our build-to-rent changes. They say no to helping more Australians get pathways into homeownership.

Let's be clear about what the approach of the right-wing parties would do for housing in this country: build fewer homes, make housing more expensive and make homeownership further away for the people of our great country.

Opposition members interjecting—

They love to give us all a bit of lip in the chamber, but I want to remind them that politics is not about all the politicking that you come in here to do. It's not about all the leadership ructions that you get up to. It's not about One Nation laying landmines. It's about doing the gritty, hard work of making a difference. And there's only one political party in this parliament that's doing that on housing, and that is the Australian Labor Party.