Jo Briskey (Maribyrnong, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this House:

(1) notes that the Government is delivering on its commitments to ensure that more Australians have a safe and secure place to call home by:

(a) working with the states and territories to make renting easier, fairer, and more affordable;

(b) backing first home buyers with the expanded 5 per cent deposit scheme for first home buyers and the Help to Buy scheme; and

(c) building more homes, including more social and affordable homes around the country; and

(2) acknowledges that this housing delivery is already changing the lives of Australians who otherwise may not have had an opportunity to access home ownership or put a roof over their head.

One thousand and thirty—that's the number of social and affordable houses that this Labor government has helped deliver in my electorate of Maribyrnong. That's over 1,000 vulnerable and low-income Australians who now have a place to call home. That's over 1,000 homes close to the city, to public transport, to bulk-billing clinics and to other services. That's well over 1,000 people who can live and work in the communities that they love, where they are close to family and friends.

I've got another number for you: 373. That's the number of social and affordable homes that the coalition built in the nine years they were last in government. Don't let them fool you. There was a housing crisis back then too, yet not a single one of those 373 homes was built in my community—not one. This Labor government has delivered nearly triple the number of social and affordable homes in my electorate alone than those opposite delivered across the entire country in the nine years they were in government.

When it comes to housing in this country, there is only one party of government that's serious about tackling this crisis. Labor has 25,000 social and affordable homes either in construction or in planning right now across this country. We have been in government for half the time those opposite were, yet we're already delivering on our ambitious agenda to build 55,000 new homes. Why the stark contrast? As the member for Wright has said in the past, apparently there wasn't a housing problem in this country when they were in government. Seriously? Their heads were so far in the sand that they didn't even have a minister for housing. But this Labor government understands how big the task at hand is. Not only do we have a minister for housing in cabinet, we also have a special envoy for social housing and homelessness. Behind them sits a united caucus focused on delivering real housing reform, delivering for the communities we represent.

Our social and affordable housing target sits within a broader housing plan that includes making it easier to buy and making life better for renters. It's ambitious and it's backed by a $45 billion investment. Our Home Guarantee Scheme has been operating for six months and has allowed over 1,200 people in my community to buy their first home with just a five per cent deposit. This scheme is about helping young Australians and single parents enter the housing market that, for too long, they've been locked out of. When I speak to young people in my community, many of them raise the issue of housing. What was once considered an Aussie dream has turned into a living nightmare for them.

The reality is that, while this government have taken massive steps to reform our housing sector and deliver real solutions for the housing crisis, there is still a lot of work to do, and we acknowledge this. We also acknowledge that there are a lot of people out there who are still some time away from buying their first home. That is why we are delivering our build-to-rent program to help increase housing options for those who need it most. In my community, close to 2,000 new homes are under construction or in planning stages thanks to Labor's build to rent, and we've delivered the biggest back-to-back increase to the Commonwealth rental assistance in 30 years. This increase has helped over 6,300 low-income households in Maribyrnong to pay their rent.

When those opposite inevitably get up to speak, they'll complain and they'll whinge. But what young people, working families, single parents and low-income Australians should be asking them is this: Why did you vote against the help-to-buy scheme supporting 40,000 low-income Aussies into homeownership? Why did you vote against the build-to-rent program building 80,000 new long-term leases? Why did they vote against the five per cent deposits and decry the building of 100,000 new homes? Those opposite have simply given up on homeownership, on renters and on supporting young people.

Labor has not given up. We're stepping up. Australia's housing crisis didn't happen overnight, and it won't be fixed overnight either. But this Labor government has made a commitment to an ambitious plan that is aimed at chipping away at the problems that have been left unchecked for generations. Young people deserve a chance at entering the housing market. Working families, especially single-parent households, deserve stability. Renters deserve the rights and freedoms to make the house they live in their home. Labor is working every day to deliver more and more of our massive housing plan, and it's about time that those opposite stop standing in the way of the Aussie dream of homeownership.

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

Is the motion seconded?

Matt Burnell (Spence, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I second the motion and reserve my right to speak.

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

I rise to speak on the member for Maribyrnong's motion on housing this morning. I just heard the member mention renters. Are these better protections for renters in the room with us? It's like this government is allergic to doing anything to help renters, consistently refusing calls to coordinate with the states to stop unlimited rent increases or provide some semblance of security through mechanisms like long-term leases and stopping no-cause evictions. Renting is as insecure as ever. Rents in Brisbane have risen 50 per cent over the last five years while wages have only increased 19 per cent, and renters get punished by rate rises too.

'The unemployment rate will probably have to rise,' says Michele Bullock, the head of the RBA, who herself settled on a $2 million luxury holiday home on the coast on the same day that she hiked interest rates. That's hundreds of thousands more people unemployed. If Bullock gets her way and keeps on hiking interest rates, that's millions more people struggling to pay their mortgage and forgoing a holiday, a present for their kids or a health check-up. For people like Michele Bullock, who has a $1.2 million salary a year, that's just numbers. It's just what the economy needs.

But you're not a number. People are not numbers, and the economy doesn't need it. Corporate greed demands it. You didn't cause this latest round of inflation. Trump's war with Albanese's support and corporate profiteering did. Yet we're told we have to pay for it. But the people making the decision to hike interest rates, to support these wars and to let corporations price gouge us are completely exempt from the consequences. Politicians aren't the ones who'll be choosing between buying groceries and paying their mortgage. They make the decisions and are immune to their effects. They don't care about everyday people anymore. They only seem to care about the ultrawealthy and massive corporations.

The RBA has only one lever it can use—interest rates. When you only have a hammer, everything looks like a nail, but the government can do a lot more to tackle inflation and tackle rising inequality. The value of housing has gone up astronomically over the past couple of decades, a hugely strong contributor to inflation. A big reason for that is our tax settings, particularly negative gearing and the 50 per cent CGT, capital gains tax, discount. The Greens-led Senate inquiry into the operation of the CGT discount recently released their report that confirmed the extent to which it contributes to inequality in this country. It also heard from a wealth of economists, who agreed that winding back the CGT discount is absolutely vital for tackling inequality and reining in house price growth.

A teacher earning $100,000 a year should not pay more tax than someone earning $100,000 from their investment properties. A retail worker earning $70,000 a year shouldn't pay more tax than someone earning $70,000 from shares. We shouldn't tax workers more than asset owners, but that's what the capital gains tax discount enables, quite literally dividing our society between the haves and the have-nots. When the Howard government brought in the capital gains tax discount, a house cost six times the average wage. Now it costs 11 times the average wage. In just 25 years, the cost of buying a house relative to your income has almost doubled.

So, at auctions around the country, first home buyers are being constantly outbid by property investors that have more cash to play around with due to the CGT discount. Eighty-three per cent of the benefit of the CGT discount goes to the top 10 per cent of income earners—83 per cent!—and around 60 per cent to the top one per cent alone. Let's be clear: that is literal transfer of wealth from ordinary people to the ultrawealthy. The CGT discount was supposedly introduced to help productivity, but it's having the opposite effect, acting as just a huge government subsidy for the wealthy. It overwhelmingly goes to capital gains on existing housing stock, and business investment has proportionately gone down since it was introduced. The CGT discount is an overwhelming failure that needs to be wound back urgently.

Alison Byrnes (Cunningham, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We know that, under the previous government, we saw a decade of inaction on housing. Over that time, the Liberals built just 373 social and affordable homes, a shocking record that Labor is working every single day to turn around. We're investing $45 billion to build more homes to help renters and help more Australians buy their first home, and we are literally changing lives.

Under the Albanese Labor government's Crisis and Transitional Accommodation Program, we recently delivered more than $4.6 million to a local organisation, SASSI, to buy and refurbish six homes in the Illawarra. On 20 March, I was thrilled to get a tour of these new homes and hear directly about the impact that they are having. Already, five of the six units are housing women and children fleeing domestic violence, as well as older women at risk of homelessness. SASSI CEO Penny, an incredibly passionate community advocate, has worked tirelessly to deliver not only this project but several others right across the Illawarra and the South Coast. She's not done, either, with more exciting projects in the works, possible only because of the opportunities the Housing Australia Future Fund is providing.

When I was chatting with Penny's team, the pride that they felt at delivering this amazing project was so obvious. From dilapidated units that hadn't been touched in decades, they have produced beautiful, comfortable and, most of all, safe places that local women can call home—an absolutely incredible job by Penny's whole team. I really want to give them the credit that they deserve for their passion in working for vulnerable local people. They are amazing.

While we were there, we met Monica, a humble woman who generously and proudly wanted to show us her new home. Through a set of unfortunate circumstances, Monica, like so many women over the age of 55, found herself without a home of her own, sleeping on her sister's lounge—a situation she knew couldn't go on. She was really struggling. Her absolute delight at having this new apartment that she could call her own, which was full of her photos and her belongings and was somewhere where she could bring family and friends, was so clear. This little unit had changed Monica's life. Having a safe place they can call their own helps these women and children to regain their dignity and to start a new life. It is just the beginning for them. Whether they stay for a long time or a short time, this is the first step in a brighter tomorrow, and I could not be prouder to be part of the government making this life-changing investment in their future.

These were six homes out of 50 in my electorate of Cunningham that our government has proudly invested in, with a total of nearly $19.5 million delivered so far. Penny and her wonderful SASSI team have received another $2,625,000 for eight homes under the Safe Places Emergency Accommodation Program for crisis accommodation for women and children fleeing domestic violence. In October last year, I celebrated the topping out of the Housing Trust Warruya project in central Wollongong. This project received over $10 million under the Housing Australia Future Fund for 27 social and affordable homes for frontline workers, older women and families impacted by domestic violence. The Housing Trust is another incredible local organisation which is working hard every day to support local people in need. Their project Northsea has also received a further $2.15 million under the HAFF for nine affordable rental apartments in Wollongong's CBD. Northsea is one of Australia's first purpose built mixed tenure buildings, with social, affordable and private housing all in the same beautiful building which was opened in December 2024. I really want to thank Housing Trust CEO Amanda Winks and everyone in her team for their work helping vulnerable people across the Illawarra. With the NSW government, we are also delivering 43 new and refurbished social homes in the Wollongong local government area under Labor's Social Housing Accelerator program.

On top of this support for more social and affordable homes, we're also delivering for renters and first home buyers. In my electorate alone, more than 1,056 people have bought their first home sooner thanks to our expanded Home Guarantee Scheme. More than 10,000 local people have also received an almost 50 per cent boost in back-to-back increases in Commonwealth rent assistance, and more than 560 local construction trade apprentices have benefited from $5,000 incentive payments.

Ben Small (Forrest, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Electoral Matters) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This motion suggests that, under Labor, the housing crisis is easing, renting is fairer, homeownership is within reach for young Australians and the government is changing lives. Unfortunately, Australians can't live in Labor media releases. They only live in the real world. In the real world, housing is more expensive, more scarce and more insecure than it was when this government took office. Renting today is not easier, fairer nor more affordable. In fact, renters today face the worst rental affordability in some two decades—worse than at any time during the GFC and worse than at any time under a coalition government. National median rents have risen by more than 30 per cent. Low-income renters are spending more than one third of their income on rent, and, in a majority of Australian markets, less than 20 per cent of rental stock is affordable for someone on the minimum wage. It is abundantly clear to us on this side of the House that you cannot regulate your way out of a supply shortage. Red tape is killing the construction of new housing in Australia, and, until this can be fixed, renters ultimately pay the price.

The government claims its five per cent deposit scheme has made a difference to first home buyers, but this scheme hasn't built a single home and hasn't increased or corrected the disparity between supply and demand, and it has pushed housing prices even higher. Without any increase in supply, they have simply poured petrol on the demand fire in Australia, and it is little wonder that the median price of a house in Australia is now some $860,000, or more than eight times the median household. It takes 11 years on an average wage to save a deposit for a home. This government's idea, instead, is that having inflated housing prices with their five per cent scheme—people are now expected to take on a 95 per cent mortgage with interest rates only going up and up and up, with their inflation fuelled spending spree continuing unabated. The scheme's capped at some 10,000 places a year, and less than 300 purchases have been completed nationally, and that leaves Australians to co-own their house with the government. It's effectively having the government as a shareholder in your own home, while you pay all of the maintenance and upgrade costs yourself. It's not structural reform; it is just simply rationed assistance in a truly broken system.

Supply targets, as I said, are continually being missed, because this government claims it's building more homes—we all understand that it's actually the private sector that builds homes in Australia. We need some 240,000 of them every year to keep up with population growth. Under the National Housing Accord, we're already tens of thousands of homes behind schedule and going backwards by some 30,000 a year. At the current rate, we are simply going to make this problem worse. Not one state or territory across the entire country is on track to meet its housing targets. As I say, you can't live in a Labor media release. You have to live in the real world. The reality is that, in the real world, housing is more expensive, rentals are more scarce, and affordability is poorer.

The supply of housing can't be delivered in isolation, of course, because infrastructure is the missing link, and this government doesn't really have a plan to deal with it. The reality is that road networks, power, sewerage and water connection issues are leaving zoned, approved and otherwise fit-for-purpose development land sitting idle. We have growth corridors. We have developers ready to go. We have obviously huge demand for housing in Australia, and all that we are looking for is leadership from the government to provide the essential infrastructure that turns paddocks into suburban homes. It's one thing to announce housing targets and have glossy brochures, but, without the infrastructure to deliver them, that's all this will be: a glossy brochure. And it won't be restoring the dream of homeownership for Australians.

I love the way that the government likes to talk about 'government housing'. That's effectively what social and affordable housing is. It is state housing, and, unfortunately, some 640,000 Australians are languishing on a waiting list, looking for real action from this government, not more media releases.

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

During the last election, the Labor Albanese government promised to help more Australians into housing, and that is exactly what we're doing. We spoke about the five per cent deposit scheme, an election promise which we delivered on three months earlier than when it was meant to start. The five per cent deposit helps first home buyers get a home of their own sooner, slashing the amount of time required to save for a deposit.

It's interesting listening to those opposite, who've been critical of our policies. I'll just say that, after nine years in government, they took no action whatsoever. In fact, for a large segment of those nine years, there wasn't even a housing minister, and, when questions were asked about housing, they were always handballed to the states. We recall quite clearly the opposition saying: 'Well, that's not an issue for us. That's an issue for the state governments, not for the federal government.' Therefore, we had total inaction for a long period of time, and now we're facing the consequences.

But this government has brought the Commonwealth back to the table with the states to try and solve this problem. And it is a problem. Owning a house is so important. For many Australians today that dream feels like it's slipping further and further away. As a nation, we're doing the right thing. People are working, saving hard to try and buy that first home. I see it every day in my Adelaide community; I hear stories from parents about their kids who can't afford a house and from renters who can't afford to pay the rent. The crisis did not appear overnight. I'll make that quite clear: the crisis has been there for a long time, and there was total inaction.

It will take time to solve. It will take time to make sure that we get all the things correct, and we're seeing our commitment come into fruition at the moment. I've been to so many sod turning events for projects that are starting to take place, especially in my electorate of Adelaide. We have some magnificent projects that are taking place—for example, the Southwark development down in the western suburbs of Adelaide. Thousands of homes, apartments, are going to go up, especially apartments for low-income earners. And rents will be at low, subsidised prices for those who can't afford the full rent.

Just in the past month, I've had the privilege of attending two sod turning ceremonies in my electorate, moments that represent hope turning into reality. One was in Kilburn, where 29 new homes are being built for older women, a group now recognised as the fastest growing cohort at risk of homelessness in Australia. It's so important to see projects like this come to fruition. The other was in Bowden, delivering 24 social housing apartments and six affordable homes right in the heart of a thriving, connected suburb, close to amenities et cetera. And that's only the beginning.

We've seen the HAFF coming into fruition, and I've visited many of these projects to see the construction that's taking place. Across the country, ambition is meeting action at a scale. The goal is bold: 1.2 million new homes. Already construction has started on more than 570,000 homes, and there is no slowing down. This takes planning. It takes coordination. And it takes leadership. But, most of all, it takes listening to the communities—including about what's needed and where the at-risk are. The at-risk are renters and first home buyers. They are the people who simply want a fair chance. While building homes is critical, so too is helping people afford them—that is so important. Already, hundreds of thousands of Australians have been supported into their own homes—people who might still be waiting on the sidelines otherwise.

Home is not just a building. It's stability for a child going to school. It is dignity for an older Australian who's worked all their lives. It is confidence for a young couple starting life together. Housing in this nation should not be a privilege. It is a foundation for a decent life. Making sure that every Australian has a fair chance at a safe and secure home is not just an economic responsibility; it's a moral one. It is our duty, all of us, to ensure that we do everything we can to ensure that there is housing for Australians. We are a First World country. We should not be in this situation, but, because of the inaction of governments over the years, we are.

Cameron Caldwell (Fadden, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Housing) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It's interesting that we stand up, at the start of another parliamentary week, and Australia is still gripped by a fuel crisis, a cost-of-living crisis and, importantly for today's motion, a housing crisis. The member who moved this motion today, I would expect, should have been reading off the talking points given to her by her own minister, but, instead, I heard some terms that were very familiar to me. It's a message that I have said over and over in this place, and that is that the great Australian dream is turning into a nightmare under this Labor government. Full credit to the member for Maribyrnong, because she actually recognised that today. This government are painting themselves to be the great defender of housing, but, in actual fact, they are the vandals. They are the vandals of the great Australian dream.

I say that this is turning into a nightmare for Australians because this is a crisis that touches every single demographic impacted by housing. We know that everyone needs a roof over their head. What I see in this crisis is that it doesn't matter which end of the spectrum you're at; you are impacted. If you're a person who is fortunate enough to own a home with a mortgage, you are now paying $27,000 a year more in interest than you were in May 2022, when this government came into office. If you're a renter, your rent is up by 22 per cent. Homelessness is on the rise. Seniors and our most vulnerable are feeling insecure about their futures in housing. For this government to come in here today and suggest that all is tickety-boo and on the right track is quite deceptive in my suggestion. The recent speaker, the member for Adelaide—again, maybe reading off my talking points—said that the dream of homeownership is slipping away. I couldn't agree more.

The real solution that the Australian people have at hand is the election of a coalition government. I want to outline why, fundamentally, that is where the starting point for a solution needs to be. We must unapologetically defend Australian values. One of those values is the ability to have your own self-determination of where you live, and that can only be delivered through homeownership. We want our country to once again be one of opportunity, aspiration, freedom and safety. All of those things are delivered through having a home of your own.

We must restore Australia to a country where life is affordable, where our kids can buy a home, where you can raise a family and where there's a fair go once again. We must again become a country of strength and unity. All Australians—especially young Australians out there, who I know are feeling pretty depressed in these current times and under this Labor government about their prospects of owning a piece of Australia—deserve the stability that's been afforded to generations of Australians, the stability and the security that comes from homeownership. We know that only the coalition will re-establish homeownership as the centrepiece of the Australian dream.

One wonders why this government have set a headline target of 1.2 million homes over five years when they know full well that they cannot deliver on that promise. This is nothing more than a press release that is out there to try and create some sort of idea that there is a solution ahead; there is not. This government have done nothing to change what delivers housing, so, as a result, they are falling further and further behind their 1.2 million homes target. What does that mean? It's created false hope for young Australians. There are fewer tradies in the system. Overall, the government are falling about 80,000 homes short of this target already. They have broken the system and have no solutions to fix it.

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 an order of the day for the next day of sitting.

Ben Small (Forrest, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Electoral Matters) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Listening to the government speakers today, you'd think that under the Albanese government renting is fairer, homeownership is more affordable and, indeed, life is better for Australians. The reality couldn't be further from the truth. For all their talk about how many houses the government's building, you'd almost think that Minister O'Neil's down on a building site in high vis, with her steel caps on, slinging some bricks around. But the reality is that dwelling completions are now running at 170,000 homes a year—compared to more than 200,000 homes a year under the coalition. So less housing stock is being built in Australia. At the same time, under the well commented on migration surge, we've had epic demand for new homes in Australia.

Their answer was the National Housing Accord. But, in the time the Albanese government's been in office, Australia's population has grown by 1.6 million people, creating demand for some 640,000 additional dwellings. So we've got fewer dwellings being built and more people coming to Australia, yet somehow it is a galloping shock to the government that house prices are through the roof and rents are skyrocketing at the same time.

The government's own advisory body has belled the cat and said that the government's going to miss its own target by 60,000 homes. So 60,000 homes is the shortfall that we're talking about. But, again, if you read the media releases, this is all great. Renting is more affordable, homeownership is within reach and life is great.

Housing can't be delivered in isolation. It depends on infrastructure to unlock new land for development. And that is what we are missing in this debate. Across declared growth corridors, with zone structure plans in place, roads are inadequate or missing, and power and water connections are delayed. Indeed, in my own state of Western Australia it is not uncommon to wait 18 months for a power connection for new developments whilst infrastructure in our community—sewerage, schools, transport links and health care—is under incredible strain. So approved developments are not proceeding to the construction of new homes because the enabling infrastructure simply isn't there.

The Housing Australia Future Fund has delivered 895 homes, which is less than 0.2 per cent of the annual housing stock required. At that rate alone it would take 60 years to clear the existing waiting list for government housing. The average cost per dwelling under the fund exceeds some $600,000, and 70 per cent of the projects are in planning or procurement stages. They're not even at the point where Minister O'Neil, in her high vis with her steel caps on, could carry some bricks around the building site. I just find it staggering that, when Australians are doing it so tough, those on the government benches are so keen to look at them down the barrel of a camera and say, 'You've never had it better.'

These challenges in the housing market weren't caused by tax settings, let's be clear. Tax arrangements didn't change magically in the last couple of years when house prices started to skyrocket just as demand went through the roof and construction collapsed. Indeed, interest deductibility has been a thing since 1936, and it was, of course, the Labor government in the 1980s that introduced the capital gains tax in 1985. If you think about it, before 1985, there was no capital gain that could be taxed, meaning that property investors somehow 'never had it better', and yet we didn't have a housing crisis then. Tax settings did not cause this housing crisis, but rather the failure to manage Australia's migration and binding our housing and construction sector up with new levels of red tape regulation and restriction has created the perfect storm, making housing less affordable, less available and less within reach for young Australians than ever before. Again, you can't live in a Labor media release. You have to live in the real world. The reality is that house prices are skyrocketing, rents are through the roof, availability is through the floor, and this government is continuing to pump out media releases not new housing.

Renee Coffey (Griffith, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fadden for the opportunity to speak on housing and on the work that this government is doing to address it. Given housing did not have a dedicated ministerial focus for six years of the opposition's time in government, it's genuinely good to see the member for Fadden and, more recently, Senator Bragg holding the shadow housing portfolio.

Housing is one of the most immediate and life-shaping challenges facing Australians today. Across Griffith and across the country, people are working hard and doing all the right things and yet are struggling to get in the market. I hear it from young people, who wonder if they will ever be able to own a home of their own. I hear it from parents, who want their children to have the security that they once took for granted. I hear it from renters facing repeated rent increases, short leases and the stress that comes with not knowing what happens next.

Australia's current housing situation has been building for a long time. For 40 years, our country simply has not been building enough homes. We know it will not be fixed overnight, but that is exactly why it requires national leadership, serious ambition and a government prepared to act. The Commonwealth needed to return to housing policy with purpose, investment and a clear focus on delivery, and that is what this government has done. Our $45 billion housing plan is built around three clear priorities—building more homes, making it easier to buy and making it better for renters. It is a practical plan that recognises there is no single lever to pull and no one announcement that will solve a challenge of this scale.

At the centre of this effort is a simple fact: we need more homes. That is why we are working with state and territories on planning reform, cutting red tape, investing in enabling infrastructure and training more tradies so we can lift housing supply across our cities, our suburbs and our regions. The commencement of new builds is up 11.6 per cent compared with this time last year. Construction cost inflation, which reached extraordinary heights under the former government, has fallen to 1.8 per cent. Construction times have also improved, with new homes now being built 10 per cent faster. These are important signs of progress. They do not mean the work is done, but they show that sustained action is making a difference.

We are also rebuilding the Commonwealth's role in social and affordable housing, something very close to my heart. Through the Housing Australia Future Fund and our broader housing agenda, 55,000 new social and affordable homes are on the way for people who need them most. That matters deeply because, for many Australians, the private market alone will never provide the security or affordability that they need. I have seen what it looks like in Griffith through the Brisbane Housing Company project in Stones Corner.

Last year, I was proud to welcome the Prime Minister to see residents moving into these 82 brand-new social and affordable homes. We met John, Jan and Karen and heard what secure housing meant for them. John told me that it was the first time in years that he had been able to sleep soundly. That stays with you. Behind every housing statistic is a person, a family, a life made more stable and the quiet relief that comes with finally having a place to call home.

Alongside the work to increase supply, we're making it easier for people to buy their first home. More than 50,000 Queenslanders have now bought their first home with help from Labor's five per cent deposit scheme, including more than 1,140 in my electorate of Griffith since February. That is practical support that helps people get into the market sooner. At a mobile office in West End recently, I spoke with Mitchell, a young man in my electorate who finally has a genuine chance to enter the housing market through Labor's Help to Buy Scheme. For people who have felt locked out for too long, that kind of support can change the direction of their lives.

At the same time, we know many people in Griffith and across Australia rent, and they deserve support as well. For 7,270 renters in Griffith, we have delivered back-to-back increases for maximum rates of Commonwealth rent assistance, amounting to an increase of almost 50 per cent since we came into government. Renters deserve not only assistance but also a housing system that offers greater stability and even better options. Everyone deserves a safe place to call home. In Griffith, that hope is shared by young renters, growing families, older residents, key workers and people doing their best to get ahead. They deserve a government willing to meet the scale of that challenge with energy, investment and purpose.

Labor has brought the Commonwealth back into the work of building homes, backing buyers and supporting renters, and communities like mine are already seeing a difference. I'm proud to be part of a government approaching this challenge with ambition, care and a clear commitment to delivery for the people of Griffith and for Australians across the country. This government is getting on with the job. We're building more homes, and we're making it better to rent and easier to buy.

Simon Kennedy (Cook, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Housing affordability has never been tougher. Housing has never been more out of reach than it is for this current generation, and it's hard to tell what it will do to the social fabric of this country if it's allowed to continue this way.

We talk a lot about housing supply. Yes, we build 170,000 dwellings a year, but there's a simple truth: if housing supply does not match population growth, you'll see prices go up and housing become less affordable, be it buying a house or renting a house. Unfortunately, immigration settings have been far too strong and allowed to run far ahead of housing completions. At a time when we've brought over 1.2 million new Australians into the country, we've added fewer than 500,000 homes. That simply does not work. Unfortunately, housing is inelastic. You cannot just create a few houses overnight. You have to go through planning, financing and construction—lengthy delays. So any mismatch between population growth and housing supply sees substantial price increases. The same is likely true if we can have housing supply outstrip population growth. That needs to be the aim. We need to increase housing supply and reduce population growth so these two metrics are in equilibrium, and this is something this government has failed at incredibly dismally. That is why we see such a stark increase in house prices.

Similarly, some of the metrics on the supply side are not increasing homeownership. We're seeing subsidies for super funds and institutional investors to build to rent. We have given multibillion-dollar subsidies, in some cases, to bring on new housing. These subsidies would be far better directed at Australian mums and dads, aspiring young Australians who want to get into the housing market. These are the people we should be subsidising and backing to make Australia more affordable. These are the people who are also punished by unsustainably high immigration levels. These are the ones whose local areas are getting crowded as they fight for sporting fields, for car parks and for places in local public schools and see housing become increasingly unaffordable.

And, yes, this government's reckless spending is adding even more difficulty to that. Because government spending is at a 40-year high—outside of the pandemic—we are seeing inflation run rampant through people's pay cheques and interest rates climb higher and higher. Australia having the highest inflation of any advanced economy in the world made it extremely vulnerable to a fuel shock. Now we have that fuel shock, inflation is running even higher and even more rampant, and we are faced with even more interest rate rises. The average Australian family is now paying in excess of $25,000 a year more in interest alone on their mortgage. That's before you add in the cost of energy bills, inflation and increased taxation for bracket creep.

What we now need to do is balance immigration with housing supply. We've never had more of a reason to do it than now. We need to focus on housing supply measures. Policies such as the first home owner guarantee are continuing to fuel demand at a time when demand should be taken off with the volumes of new immigrants entering this country. Even on social and affordable housing, this government's record is equally concerning. The Housing Australia Future Fund now holds around $11.4 billion, yet, after more than two years, it's delivered fewer than 900 homes. It's raised $11.4 billion in taxpayer revenue, delivering just 900 homes. This isn't a delivery problem at the margins; it's a fundamental failure of execution. Australians are being promised a step change in housing supply, but, instead, what they are seeing is extremely worrying. Money is sitting around in a fund while a shortage continues, and the government won't address the problem that's staring it in the face—that is, increased population growth and increased immigration levels. It should be reduced now to match housing supply.

Luke Gosling (Solomon, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As those listening may or may not realise, those opposite—the coalition—were in government for nine years and were an absolute joke when it came to housing, not just social and affordable housing but all housing measures. They didn't even have a minister for housing at the get-go. What is so disgraceful about that is that it is such a life-defining challenge for so many Australians. I'll speak from the point of view of the people that I represent in the Territory. We are tackling it in a way that is increasing supply—that's exactly what we need—through a $45 billion comprehensive, multifaceted plan. That is focused on three things: (1) building more homes—the supply I just talked about—(2) making it easier to purchase a home, and (3) making it better for renters as well.

Real progress is being made right across the country and in the Northern Territory. When it comes to home building, we have a very ambitious target of 1.2 million homes, and I believe in ambitious targets. It's something that we're getting after. There will be people saying that we're not doing enough, but, when you consider that in the whole time of the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison government—in just one year, we've built more social and affordable homes than they did over nine years or so. We are doing the work that needs to be done by cutting red tape, delivering new infrastructure and training more tradies—the people that actually build the homes—right across the country. We are working with states and territories to implement real and substantial planning reforms, and we are scaling up modern methods of construction, such as the modular housing piece, which has got real potential to be a big game changer.

Home building is turning around, with new home start-ups at 11.6 per cent, an increase on this time last year. The National Housing Supply and Affordability Council have recently released their quarterly report, showing that the National Housing Accord is delivering early results of solid growth in housing supply and improving construction conditions across Australia throughout the first five quarters of the accord period. So we're back in the game of building more social and affordable housing, with over 150 homes on the way in the Territory under the Housing Australia Future Fund. We need a lot more stock than that in the Territory, but 150 are on the way there.

We have also provided support for more first home buyers from Darwin to get into homeownership by increasing the property price cap for the five per cent home deposit scheme. I thank all of those stakeholders in Darwin and Palmerston and the greater rural area there, where we have now got a two price cap system, as they do in the states, to take account of the higher price of purchasing a house in Darwin. From 1 July 2026, around the Territory it's going to be still at the $600,000 mark, which reflects that market, but for Greater Darwin, we've increased that cap to $750,000. That is a result of listening to Territorians, particularly those people that I represent in Darwin and Palmerston, and reflecting what they need to achieve the Australian dream and the Territory dream.

This change brings the NT in line with the other states, as I mentioned, but it makes sure that our cap is aligned with the realities of our market. It gives homebuyers in Darwin, Palmerston, the rural area and Greater Darwin more choice. Hundreds more Territorians will be able to get into homeownership years sooner because of this change, and it'll also save them tens of thousands of dollars on lender's mortgage insurance.

The five per cent deposit scheme has already helped more than 1,800 people in the Northern Territory move into their first home since we came into government. It has been welcomed by people like Luis Espinoza at HIA NT, who is one of those stakeholders in my electorate that I want to thank for their advocacy, as well as Ruth Palmer from the Property Council. I thank all Territorians for their support of that policy.

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

We can talk until we are blue in the face about the home situation—people getting a roof over their heads, renters, and making sure the economic conditions are right for construction companies—but out there they are feeling a sense of frustration. They have been badly let down by this government when it comes to the housing sector.

You only have to look at the construction insolvencies per financial year to know that what I'm saying is true. In the last full year of the coalition government, there were 351 construction insolvencies in 2020-21. The following year, that number increased to 494, and that was on the cusp of the government changing. Prime Ministers Keating and Howard both famously said that when you change the government, you change the nation. Then, in 2022-23, we see 981 construction insolvencies. The following year, 2023-24, there were 1,409. In 2024-25 there were 1,567. Dare I say, I'm sure that number will sadly, unfortunately, probably be even higher in 2025-26.

I know this from personal experience. My wife, Catherine, was the regional manager of Dennis Family Homes. It was bought out by Simonds Homes in November 2024, and Dennis Family closed their regional operations. Such a pity. It was due to economic conditions. It was due to lack of land availability. It was due to the difficulty of getting people, contractors and product. When I addressed this particular issue of getting product in the House of Representatives, I was talking particularly about the timber industry in Victoria being shut down by the state government, and the then housing minister, the member for Franklin, interjected and said, 'Well, what does timber have to do with it?' Well, it's got a lot to do with it, because you build homes out of timber.

I just heard the member for Solomon talking about what they're doing in the space of the trades, but you cannot find tradespeople—carpenters, electricians, bricklayers and all of those people who are vital in the construction of houses—in regional Australia in particular. If you can, the costs are so very high and getting higher. It's at breaking point—it absolutely is. You only have to hear from the likes of the New South Wales head of the Urban Development Institute of Australia, Stuart Ayres. He's a former New South Wales cabinet minister, and he said there were real fears the construction industry could flatline. He was speaking last year—goodness knows what he might be thinking now. He said:

The rapid escalation of costs for construction businesses has put many construction businesses under pressure and seen an increasing number forced into liquidation.

Developers can't deliver the housing we need without competitive construction businesses to do the building work.

Taxes, compliance and regulatory requirements and a shortfall of skilled labour all have cost implications for business.

With consumers struggling to afford apartments at what it costs to construction them, builders just don't have any margin left to absorb these costs.

In regional Australia it's so difficult, too. We went to the election last year with a good plan to help councils offset water and other amenities to new subdivisions. Of course, we didn't win the election. More's the pity, but working with local and state governments in particular is going to be key to solving this housing crisis. But, first and foremost, we need to get the cost of doing business down. It's going to be about pulling those levers of the economy, to get the cost-of-living crisis sorted, because people simply can't afford to buy a house. They simply can't afford to pay the rent to put a roof over their head. That is the great crisis. Labor have now been in government for near on four years and they can't keep using the excuse, 'It's the coalition's fault.'

Mary Doyle (Aston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I thank the member for Fadden for the opportunity to speak on this very important matter. Housing is a life-defining challenge for so many Australians, and nowhere is that clearer than in my community of Aston. People are working hard and doing everything right, and they're still finding it hard to afford a place to call home. Young people are standing in long queues just to inspect rental properties. Families who a generation ago would have owned their own home now feel as if they're locked out of the market, and parents worry they can't give their kids the same stability they once had. I'm one of those parents, in fact. Renters are being hit with increases that are too high and too frequent. But this isn't a new problem—oh, no. It's a challenge that stretches back decades. It started under the Howard government, quite frankly, and for far too long it was left to the states, while the Commonwealth stepped back. Under the coalition for nearly a decade, from 2013 to 2022, the federal government was a negligent bystander. They tapped out of housing and didn't even have a housing minister until their very last term. They had no national target, no serious plan and, above all, no leadership.

Under the Albanese Labor government, that has changed. Under our government, the Commonwealth is back at the table, with an ambitious $45 billion housing plan focused on three things: building more homes, making it easier to buy and making life better for renters. And we are delivering. Firstly, we are building more homes. We've set a national target of 1.2 million new homes because we know the simple truth: the best way to make housing more affordable is to build more houses. Since we came to government, more than 570,000 homes have already been built across the country. New-homes starts are up, construction times are improving and construction cost inflation, once at a half-century high of 17 per cent under the coalition, has been brought down dramatically. We're cutting red tape, investing in infrastructure, training more tradies and working with states and territories to unlock supply in our cities, suburbs and regions. Through our social and affordable housing agenda, including the Housing Australia Future Fund, we've already completed more than 6,000 homes for Australians who need them most, with 55,000 more in the pipeline.

Compare that to the coalition, where just 373 social and affordable homes were delivered nationwide when they were in office. Even now, with three different leaders since they were in government, they're still standing in the way. They delayed the Housing Australia Future Fund, then they promised to scrap it. They tried to tear down the build-to-rent scheme, putting 80,000 rental homes at risk. They opposed Help to Buy, which is helping 40,000 low-income Australians into homeownership. And they even opposed one of the most practical, life-changing policies we've delivered: the five per cent deposit scheme.

In Aston, this important scheme matters. Right now, families and young people in our community are getting into their first homes with just a five per cent deposit, cutting years off the time it takes to save. It is life changing. It means no more lining up for rentals and no more uncertainty at the end of every lease. It means a place to call your own, somewhere you can raise a family, plant a garden, have a cat and a dog or a budgie, hang pictures on the wall and plan your future. Across Australia, more than 230,000 people have already been helped into homeownership through this program. That's 230,000 lives changed, yet the opposition call it a gimmick. They vote against it and now they want to rip it away.

The truth is the coalition have given up on homeownership. They stand in this place and claim they support homeownership, but the question is simple: How can they? How can they claim to support Australians getting into homes when they oppose every single measure that makes it possible? Labor has a plan. It's ambitious, it's comprehensive and it's already delivering real results for communities like mine in Melbourne's outer east.

We know this challenge won't be solved overnight, but we are making real progress building more homes, helping more Australians buy their own home and delivering a fairer housing system for the future. I'm proud to stand here today as a member of a government that is finally taking this challenge seriously and delivering on housing for all Australians.

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

The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.