Matt Gregg (Deakin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for Housing. How is the Albanese Labor government helping first home buyers get into a home of their own, and is the minister aware of any risks to this work?

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

The member for Deakin is a fantastic champion for aspiring homeowners in his electorate, and I want to thank him for this question. Too many Australians today feel that the housing system is stacked against them, especially younger Australians, and they're not imagining it. Right across our community, homeownership rates are declining. They're declining across all age brackets, but the effects are particularly pronounced when we look at what's going on for younger Australians.

As housing minister, I often get asked what things keep me up at night. Here's one of them: since the year I was born, a low-income young couple in this country are half as likely to own their own home than they were in 1980. We know those opposite are obsessed with division and conflict, and they're talking about these important changes as though this is some kind of fight between the generations. But they know and I know that, as people representing the Australian community, we are just as likely to get stopped in the street by grandparents who are worried about their grandchildren and parents who are worried about their kids. Our housing challenge is affecting the whole country. That's why our government has built the boldest and most ambitious agenda to tackle this that a Commonwealth government has had in 70 years.

We're building more homes. We know the main game is building, building, building because more housing means more affordable housing for Australians. But it's really important that we address the playing field and level that playing field for first home buyers. Our five per cent deposit program helps you get to the auction sooner. It's gone from 11 years to save a deposit down to two or three. That's already changed the lives of 240,000 Australians around the country. We help you get to the auction faster, and now we're giving you a fair shot when you get here. Our homeownership package will help an additional 75,000 Australians go from renting into homeownership.

I'm asked about risks, and we've already got one on the table. We've heard that the Liberal Party plan to oppose these reforms and unwind them at the next election. This is a political party one of whose foundation beliefs was a belief in homeownership. They have completely lost their way. They speak of aspiration—there is no greater aspiration in this country than young people wanting to get the keys to their first home. Why is it that Liberals have come in consistently over the last four years and voted against every initiative that we have put forward to help first home buyers? First home buyers have a hell of a challenge out there, but I want them to know that they have a Labor government and 93 Labor members behind me that are with them and fighting for them every single day.

Tim Wilson (Goldstein, Liberal Party, Shadow Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Treasurer. Since Labor came to office, 1.4 million people have arrived in Australia. This year alone, the government is also running 77,000 homes behind its housing target. Treasurer, where will all these new migrants live?

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I hope the shadow treasurer is aware that, when he blows on the dog whistle, they can hear it in Goldstein too. And, when the shadow treasurer said he was prepared to be in a government with One Nation, I think they heard that in Goldstein too. When it comes to the migration numbers in the budget and the housing numbers in the budget, it's very inconvenient to those opposite that, when we came to office, the net overseas migration number was surging. What we've been able to do in the four years that we've been in office is to see net overseas migration come down 45 per cent off its peak. And there are additional steps in the budget to put more downward pressure on net overseas migration.

So 45 per cent down from the peak after the surge that we inherited from those opposite—that's on the net overseas migration numbers, down 45 per cent from their peak. In the last full year, that came in as 30,000 fewer than the Treasury forecast in the budget. We've been managing that down. Obviously there are calculations around departures and the like which are altering the forecast this year and next year, but, overall, net overseas migration has come down. I didn't see you mentioning that when you were traipsing from disappointed door to disappointed door in Farrer. That's the first point. The second point—and the housing minister just made this point, I think, in a very compelling way—is our budgets, and not just the budget on Tuesday night but all our budgets, have been—

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Gutless Jim!

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

The Treasurer will pause. We're not going to have that sort of language. I ask for that to be withdrawn.

David Littleproud (Maranoa, National Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I withdraw.

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

I thank the member for Maranoa.

Jim Chalmers (Rankin, Australian Labor Party, Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The point that the housing minister was making is that our big investments in the budget on Tuesday night in housing supply were not the first time that we had come to the table with very substantial investments. An extra $2 billion in the budget means an extra 65,000 homes, because it invests in the small-scale infrastructure, the drains, the power infrastructure and the local road infrastructure to get more projects over the line. That's just the latest instalment in this government's enthusiastic investment in trying to make up the lost ground from the decade of those opposite doing almost nothing when it came to housing supply.

I'm asked about housing and I'm asked about progress that this government has made. Let me give you a few sets of numbers. Dwelling commencements are up 26 per cent; they were falling 28 per cent under those opposite. Dwelling building approvals are up 13 per cent; they were falling 21 per cent under those opposite. Dwelling investment is up 5.5 per cent; it was falling 3.6 per cent under those opposite. We know that there's more work to do to build more homes in local communities, and that's why there's extra investment in the budget.