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

I move:

That this House notes that:

(1) the Government is delivering a further $2 billion of investment in infrastructure to enable new housing, and that this brings the Government's total investments in housing-enabling infrastructure to $6.3 billion;

(2) this total investment is more than 50 times what the Opposition invested in housing-enabling infrastructure after over almost a decade in office;

(3) this new funding lifts the Government's housing investment to $47 billion; and

(4) the Government is delivering 55,000 social and affordable homes, nearly 150 times what the Opposition built during its time in Government.

I'm quite proud to be standing here today to speak about a very important motion, and that is the motion to tell the government that what we're doing is in the right direction, delivering a further $2 billion of investment in infrastructure to enable new housing. I do so because, when we think of a person's life, one of the most stable things in anyone's life is having a roof over your head. First, there's the need to be able to sustain yourself through food and, secondly, is shelter. That gives you stability. If you don't have that shelter and that roof over your head, then getting a job, having a stable family et cetera can be very difficult. Therefore, I'm very proud of Labor's position and Labor's policy on housing.

Earlier last week, the Prime Minister visited my electorate to see first-hand the progress that's being made in the construction area of housing in the suburb of Prospect. It's called Prospect Corner. This is an $80 million, 208 home, urban renewal project which is in Prospect. These are the type of projects that are making real differences to people's lives, real differences that are turning their lives around at that. At that site we saw a young couple, Erin and Harry, who had just purchased their first home using the affordable rental program to save up for that deposit and to get affordable housing in this area, which is close to transport and close to all the services. It was just incredible to see this young couple have the ability, through the Housing Australia Future Fund, to purchase at this price and to hear them talk about the joy and the stability that they had in their life.

The government has provided, through HAFF, funding billions of dollars, five per cent deposit schemes, shared equity and a massive build that's taking place right now all around Australia to ensure that we have housing stock so people can access that important thing that I said: shelter and a roof over their head, which is the No. 1 issue when it comes to stability. Just in my electorate of Adelaide, for example, there are currently 918 new homes that are being built or have already been built. I'm very proud of it. Week by week, I visit many of these construction sites, and it is so important.

As I said, this is an $80 million project in my electorate for 208 homes, and importantly it stands as one of the first developments in the country. In fact, we visited with the Prime Minister back in May last year, before the election, when the foundations were being built for this project. It's important that we back these projects through the Housing Australia Future Fund as part of the government's $47 billion homes for Australians plan. What I saw on that visit was not just the construction site. We saw the progress from over a year ago to its final fruition, where we saw this young couple, Erin and Harry, getting their dream home and having a roof over their head and having the stability that every Australian deserves.

What we saw is what is possible when governments work together to deliver housing where Australians need it most, and that's why today I'm very proud to speak on this motion and to move this motion that the government is delivering a further $2 billion in investment in infrastructure to enable new housing, bringing total investment in housing to $6.3 billion. This investment is more than 50 times what was previously invested in in nearly over a decade. I recall clearly being in this very place on that side of the House and seeing people from the front bench asking the then coalition government about housing policy, and I recall clearly the answer coming back—look at Hansard if you want to—saying that it was not the job of the federal government, that it was something that the state Labor governments at the time were responsible for. In other words, they were wiping their hands completely. That's why we're in the mess that we're in today.

I was very proud also on the weekend to see young couples, for the very first time, being able to bid at auctions to purchase a home that was completely out of their reach a few weeks ago because massive investors were coming in and outbidding them.

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

Wonderful stories there from Adelaide—200 homes being built. That's great. I wonder if the Prime Minister and the member for Adelaide, when they were explaining to Erin and Harry the success in buying that home, explained to them that they have let 1.4 million new people into this country by way of net overseas migration, that we're all having to compete for homes with all of those people and that they're building less houses now than the coalition built when we were in government. How do Erin and Harry actually understand and make that add up sufficiently? Good for Erin and Harry, but what about the rest of the Australians who can't get a house? Labor wants the House to note how much money they're spending, but what Australians want to know is how many houses are actually getting built.

It's classic Labor: big numbers, big press releases, zero accountability for delivery. The member for Adelaide and all of his friends over on that side think that a $47 billion figure is the outcome. It's not the outcome. The outcome is roofs over people's heads. This government says that it's investing more. But the truth of the track record we've seen under this Labor government over four years is that rents are up, mortgages are up, approvals are slow, construction costs are blown out and Australians who are trying to get into the market simply can't. For those of us who've got a mortgage, there've been 15 interest rate rises under this Labor government. You're now paying approximately $30,000 more in interest under this Labor government than you were when the coalition left office.

You see, Labor can't be trusted. They've shown in their latest budget that they are prepared to break promises. They just can't be trusted to sit on that side and govern this country. The problem that Labor has is not in announcing policy. They're very good at that. The problem is that Labor can't actually deliver housing. They had a wild hope that they could build 1.2 million homes over five years. Guess what? In the first year, they ran 80,000 short of their target. Instead of 240,000, they delivered about 170,000—less than what was being built during the coalition years.

Home ownership is quintessentially Australian. It gives families security and financial independence. It gives us a stake in this great nation. But, under Labor, the great Australian dream is fast turning into a nightmare. I spoke about home ownership during my maiden speech. That's how important it is to me. I was given an opportunity under the Howard government to buy my first home, and I want to see that home ownership is restored as the centrepiece of the Australian dream. Only a coalition government can actually do that. The Liberal and National parties have always fought for home ownership. This budget has made it crystal clear: Labor promised more homes, but all they've delivered is more taxes.

The budget papers themselves confirm that the changes to capital gains tax and negative gearing will lead to 35,000 fewer homes being built—that's on Treasury's estimates—never mind the increases in rent or all the other blockages in the system. This Labor government, quite frankly, has created a housing crisis that it's got no idea how to get itself out of. We know that Minister O'Neil was hapless in Home Affairs, and now she's hopeless with homes. This is so far off the rails that this Labor government clearly has no solutions as to how to fix it. They have taglines that will fit on a corflute, but there is no substance to their policy. They are failing each and every Australian who deserves to have a roof over their head and to have the genuine hope of homeownership here in Australia.

Jodie Belyea (Dunkley, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

To the member for Fadden: a couple of fun facts. Immigration is currently down 47 per cent. During a decade in government, the Liberal National party built 373 homes. You had 10 years in government, and you only built 373 homes.

This housing budget extends on the incredible work the Minister for Housing has done these past few years. For communities like Dunkley, this investment is not a side issue or a future issue; it is the issue right here and now. Across every community within Dunkley, for people who want some basic security, the chance to rent affordably or the chance to buy and build a future close to family, work and schools, this is increasingly possible. This is why this budget matters to Dunkley residents. The Albanese Labor government is delivering a further $2 billion in housing enabling infrastructure, bringing the government's total investment in that infrastructure to $6.3 billion.

To build homes, we need strong foundations: roads, sewerage, water and community infrastructure that allows those homes to be built. This investment is more than 50 times more than the opposition invested in housing after almost a decade in office. This new funding lifts the government's total housing investment to $47 billion. That is a very serious investment because the housing challenge demands a serious response. Through the investment, the government is delivering 55,000 social and affordable homes, which is nearly 150 times what the opposition built during its time in government—more homes for families, workers and people doing it tough. In my electorate of Dunkley, we've currently got 19 social homes being redeveloped. In Dunkley, we need to build 33,000 homes by 2051. That is a big task, and it will only happen if government is prepared to invest, plan and partner with local communities.

Over the past year, I've met regularly with Home Time and listened firsthand to the experiences of young people facing homelessness and housing stress. These conversations brought into sharp focus the reality that too many young Australians are struggling to find safe, stable housing at a critical stage in their lives. That is why I was proud to see $60 million allocated to a youth housing incentive in the budget. This measure will unlock thousands of additional tenancies, helping young people avoid homelessness and providing the stability they need to build a stronger future. This investment is a direct reflection of years of sustained advocacy from the Home Time campaign, which has worked tirelessly to elevate the voices of young people with lived experience of homelessness and ensure they are heard in the policy process. There is always more to do, particularly on this issue, but this is an important step forward in addressing youth homelessness and building a much fairer housing system.

This budget also builds on real help for first home buyers. In Dunkley, 1,837 residents have already taken up the five per cent deposit scheme. Nationally, 75,000 additional Australians are expected to access first homeownership, who would not have done so without the measures introduced by this government in this budget. For those buyers, this is the difference between waiting and entering the market, between hoping and owning, between being locked out and getting a foot in the door. So when I look at this budget, I see a government that understands the scale of the housing challenge and is acting on it now. It is investing in the infrastructure that unlocks supply, backing the delivery of social and affordable homes and helping more Australians into homeownership. For Dunkley residents, that means a stronger foundation for the future, more homes, more opportunity and more security.

Leon Rebello (McPherson, Liberal National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I want to touch on something that's been said throughout this debate by members opposite. We hear all of these different stats about the government building homes or the government not building homes. Governments don't build homes. It's businesses that are building the homes. Let's just be very, very clear about that. Businesses will only build the homes, and they'll only build the homes effectively, if they can operate under economic conditions that encourage them to be productive. That is part of the issue that we're seeing under this Labor government. The economy is tanking, there is an absolute lack of business confidence and we're seeing an environment in which businesses are not encouraged to build homes quickly. We're also seeing a shortage of people who are actually able to build homes. We're seeing a lack of adequate investment in the next generation of Australians who can build homes. Let's be very clear about that.

The other thing that I want to speak about is this. The motion says:

this total investment—

which Labor is very proud of—

is more than 50 times what the Opposition invested in housing-enabling infrastructure after over almost a decade in office

The prime minister over the last 15 years to build the most houses per day was a Liberal prime minister. The one in second place was also a coalition prime minister. In fact, despite being in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis and a housing crisis, this prime minister doesn't even come in the top three.

They're speaking about having committed $80 billion to date. Who knows what more is going to be broadcast in announcements and fancy openings. They've committed $80 billion to date to build 30,000 fewer houses per year than the coalition delivered when we were in office. Let's actually be honest about these figures and honest about these facts. If that's what those opposite are actually celebrating—that they're spending more to deliver less—then there is something seriously wrong here. I wanted to make those two points.

What we're seeing is a government who, quite frankly, maybe through no fault of their own, don't understand how to manage this economy. I don't think they understand how to drive up supply and actually deliver more houses. At the end of the day, this is a supply issue. What we're seeing is a government that is not prepared to make the tough decisions. They're not prepared to divorce themselves from the CFMEU and the unions, who are pushing up the costs of building new properties. They're not prepared to actually invest, as we've announced in the opposition budget reply, in the enabling infrastructure. When we speak to developers and when we speak to the businesses, which, again, are the ones that are delivering houses in this country, their biggest issue is that they are not able to deal with the upfront costs in new areas. This is something that we've addressed through our $5 billion fund, which Angus Taylor, the Leader of the Opposition, announced in his budget reply speech.

Young Australians, in particular, but also older Australians are frustrated by the changes that this government has made because not only are we not building houses effectively under this government but the government is also making it even harder for young Australians to build. I just had passed to me earlier that we've had, post the announcement of the budget, the CGT changes and the negative gearing changes, nine per cent lower clearance rates across the country over the last weekend. Are we actually supporting Australians to get into their first homes? Are we actually encouraging them to do so? No. What we're seeing is a government that is absolutely invested in one thing, and that is crushing aspiration.

They're doing it across the business sector, they're doing it across the economy and we're seeing it here in the housing space as well. Young people in my electorate and across the country are not experiencing what those on the government side of this chamber are saying is the reality. They are not experiencing an environment where young Australians, or even older Australians, are able to actually purchase their first home. They're seeing rents that are skyrocketing. We're seeing that all over the Gold Coast. We're seeing not enough houses being built. Under this government's policy, when you're building a new house, they're now going to be pitting investors against first home buyers, who are going to be bidding against each other because of this government's changes to negative gearing. This is a shocking budget that we have seen. It does absolutely nothing to encourage investment in new houses or to help people get into the housing market.

Zhi Soon (Banks, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It is my pleasure to support the member for Adelaide's motion and to join colleagues on this side of the House in reaffirming our support for increasing housing supply through investment in crucial enabling infrastructure.

Securing housing is a life-defining challenge for young people in this country. A generation ago, an average family in Australia would have been able to save up and buy their first home. That's not to say it was easy; they worked hard and it took plenty of time, effort and careful saving. When I speak with young people in my electorate of Banks about housing, they feel that, despite going out and getting a good education and qualifications, and working hard and saving like their parents and grandparents did, owning their first home in the community where they grew up is always a bit of a challenge to do.

Building more housing is a big part of the solution to this issue. That is why, in the budget handed down a fortnight ago, we are investing a further $2 billion to build the infrastructure needed to support new housing, which is too often one of the key barriers to getting more supply in the marketplace. The Local Infrastructure Fund will deliver crucial pipes, pavements and powerlines needed for the last mile of services, for turning empty blocks into new homes. This funding alone will enable the delivery of 65,000 new homes.

This investment isn't our first and certainly won't be our last. The $47 billion Homes for Australia Plan is making it easier to buy and better to rent and to build more homes. We are taking action on all parts of the housing challenge that stands before us. The plan is making it easier to buy with our five per cent deposit scheme, alongside the Help to Buy scheme, providing assistance to another 10,000 low- and-middle income earners into housing every single year. We're making it better to rent by working with the states to introduce minimum rental standards and bear-no-fault evictions, and getting more homes on the long-term rental market through incentives in the build-to-rent program.

Our work on housing supply is helping, with figures showing that commencements on new homes are up 26 per cent from this time last year. Since Labor came into office, we have seen more than 660,000 homes built across our country. The contrast with this government and those opposite could not be clearer. We have made $47 billion of investment to build more homes. That investment is almost 10 times what the coalition invested in almost a decade, in less than half the time.

While those opposite shout loudly about the issue, when push came to shove the coalition voted against the Housing Australia Future Fund. They voted against Help to Buy, build-to-rent and the five per cent deposit scheme. And who could forget that, for almost a decade in government, the Liberals didn't even appoint a housing minister. Thankfully, this government has both an incredible minister for housing and a terrific special envoy in this portfolio. While this government is taking action that is necessary, the coalition are retreating to scare campaigns about the rental market and the number of homes being built that they know aren't true. Once again, they are talking down Australia rather than being focused on solutions.

There is more work to do, but this government has a plan and is making real progress, with more direct investment in infrastructure and housing supply. This Labor government is focused on addressing our country's housing affordability challenge and doing all the necessary work across the sector and with communities to make sure we're addressing every step of that challenge.

Pat Conaghan (Cowper, National Party, Shadow Assistant Treasurer) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This government made a lot of promises during the budget announcement in relation to housing and, specifically, in relation to housing infrastructure. As usual, there was a lot of spin and a lot of one-liners designed to create media headlines. But, when you actually drill down into the details, once again you just see the smoke and mirrors at play.

Firstly, the seemingly impressive $2 billion figure is, in fact, spread over four years, which means that these numbers can be easily reduced with each forthcoming budget as they realise their targets aren't being met as per the modelling and as they attempt to divert our collective attention elsewhere. It wouldn't be the first time that we've heard, 'Priorities have changed,' or, 'We've changed our position.' In reality, what it means is that this government has committed just $262 million over the next financial year. That effectively makes them accountable for just 13 per cent of the promise before the next election. And, after saying for the 50th time, Prime Minister, that there would be no negative-gearing changes or capital-gains taxes—we all know how good your word is, Prime Minister, and we all know how good the word of this government is.

Speaking of broken promises, this government knows that removing negative gearing and changing capital gains will reduce the number of houses actually being built in this country. In a rare showing of apparent honesty—or maybe they just couldn't bury it deep enough in the budget papers—they've admitted that they will be building 35,000 fewer homes. Let's put that in perspective. In my electorate, I have Coffs Harbour—the city of Coffs Harbour. If you wipe out 35,000 homes in Coffs Harbour, you wipe out Coffs Harbour. That's how many fewer they are building. It's the same with Port Macquarie. Thirty-five thousand is a significant number.

At the same time, they are pouring record numbers of immigrants into the country. Over the past four years, it has been to the tune of two million people. I want to put that in perspective. From the bottom of Port Macquarie up to Coffs Harbour, then out the back to beautiful Dorrigo, down to Kempsey, Willawarrin, Bellbrook, Rollands Plains and Telegraph Point and back down to Port Macquarie—two million people is 12 times the population of Cowper. Where are those people going to go when you're building 35,000 fewer houses?

But there could be a silver lining of sorts to this homemade problem. That silver lining lies in the regions, particularly on the Mid North Coast, in Cowper. In coastal electorates right across the country, we're already beginning to shoulder the burden of rampant immigration and runaway housing prices, and we're seeing an influx of metro movers at levels we've never seen before—young families who want to escape the city, which is understandable, and older people who are selling up in Sydney or Brisbane to have a better life in areas like Port Macquarie, Raleigh, Repton and Coffs Harbour. We've got impressive schools and good hospitals, so it's understandable. But, without infrastructure investment, of which there is none for the regions and has been none for the regions over the past four years, we cannot grow.

I'll give you one example, and that is in Port Macquarie, where the basic services of sewerage and water are now at capacity, which means we cannot grow any further. The council needs to develop it. They have the plan to develop it, but it will cost a regional council $300 million, and they're asking for a measly $80 million from the federal government, which has been ignored, and I expect will continue to be ignored. We need to invest in our regions and invest now.

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

This government knows and understands that Australia is facing one of the most severe housing crises in its history. We do have skyrocketing costs of homes, increasing rent prices and an undersupply of housing. It's placing immense pressure on Australians. This crisis was decades and decades in the making; it didn't pop up overnight. It's not only affecting prospective homeowners but also having a profound impact on renters, low-income households and now even middle-class Australians, who are struggling to afford housing in major cities.

In metropolitan Adelaide, where I live, the median price of housing is close to a million dollars. It's a figure that was basically unheard of in the pre-COVID era. There are many causes. They are generational, inextricably linked and complex. They are difficult to solve. They include housing supply, high demand and investor dominance in the housing market, which makes it nigh on impossible for first home buyers to enter the market, plus rising construction costs and supply chain disruptions, which began during COVID, have kept going and are now being exacerbated by the conflict in the Middle East. There's also a shortage of the skilled labour required to build the houses we need.

But within this challenging environment—which is being led by a very activist, driven and consultative Minister for Housing, who is encouraging Commonwealth, state and territory and local governments to work together to pull in the same direction—the Albanese Labor government is acting. One of the key announcements in the recent federal budget was the $2 billion Local Infrastructure Fund. It will be dedicated to enabling works, which are one of the key barriers that complicate the delivery of housing supply. Enabling works are the initial steps taken on a worksite before construction can begin, like the water, roads, pipes, powerlines, pavements and utilities. It's the practical work that means a house can be built. Enabling works unlock supply, and that's what the Local Infrastructure Fund is all about.

Then, in my community of Sturt, just under 500 people have taken advantage of the five per cent deposit scheme that's available to first home buyers, which has helped them into their first home. Some people will argue that 500 people is not many and that this scheme is not doing much in Sturt, but that view is wrong—share that view with the 500 people who now have secure housing, a roof over their head that belongs to them and their own place on the earth that they wouldn't have had without this scheme. Five hundred first home owners is 500 first home owners while 75,000 of them over the decade is 75,000 new first home owners.

In Sturt, we also don't have the same level of social and affordable housing as some other electorates do. Again, some have said, 'Well, what's the point?' But in Sturt the housing accelerator project has helped low-income households get into secure, quality housing that's in a good location which is close to transport links, supermarkets, schools, parks and the city. It's a small number in my electorate, but so what? Any progress when it comes to first home buyers or social and affordable housing is good progress. Sometimes it takes baby steps. Like the interminable renewable energy debate we have in this country, increasing housing supply also takes time and effort.

We need to act promptly, and we are, but we also need to be patient. A target of 1.2 million homes is ambitious, but we need to be ambitious when it comes to housing. A target of 55,000 social and affordable homes is ambitious, but why would we strive for anything less? To be clear, these targets, which this government is striving to meet, are in place for the betterment of the Australian people. We are determined to meet these targets to provide the quality housing that people deserve. What would help is bipartisanship, encouragement and a shared commitment that meeting these targets is good for the Australian people, not gleeful proclamation that targets won't be met nor feverish speculation about how many homes won't be built. We need to say yes to schemes that help people to buy, to schemes that help people to rent and to doing whatever we can reasonably to increase housing supply for the Australian people.

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

I support the spirit of this motion. The government's housing investments are meaningful and represent a genuine shift. But, as welcome as these commitments are, they are not yet at the scale the crisis demands. A defining liveability challenge of our time is the collapse of social and affordable housing in Australia and what that means for Australians on the lowest incomes. Last month, Anglicare Australia released its 20th Rental affordability snapshot. Across nearly 49,000 rental listings surveyed nationwide, a single person on JobSeeker could afford just one property in the entire country. That's not 'one in a hundred'—one. There were zero affordable listings for someone on Youth Allowance and zero for most people with a disability. In Western Australia, where median rents have risen 74 per cent since 2021 and now sit at $747 a week, there was not a single affordable property for a person on JobSeeker, not even a room in a share house.

These numbers are not a market anomaly. They reflect a declining policy trajectory spanning decades. In the decades after the war, the government built around 14 of every 100 new homes in Australia. Today, that figure is a seventh of that. It's closer to two in every 100. Governments have spent the last 40 years systematically stepping back from building homes that people on low incomes can actually afford to live in. The private market cannot fix this on its own. Private developers respond to market prices and returns. They do not build homes to lease for rents that working-age payment recipients can afford.

In my home state of Western Australia, Shelter WA estimates a shortfall of nearly 54,000 social and affordable homes. The social housing waitlist now exceeds 151 weeks, which is nearly three years. Think about that. You find yourself in a situation where you need to apply for social housing, and you're told that, yes, you do qualify, but you have to wait nearly three years. How can that be the best we can do? In my Curtin housing policy, boosting government investment in social and affordable housing was identified by my community as the single, most important, policy priority, supported by 85 per cent of community survey respondents. People in my electorate, one of Australia's most advantaged, understand that the social cost of exclusion falls on all of us. They understand that key workers, young people and older Australians on the pension cannot afford to live near the people and services that they support, and they want governments to act. The data on youth homelessness particularly troubles me. On one night in March this year, 73 young people were sleeping rough across Perth, with only three crisis beds available. In 2025, Youth Futures, alone, received 2,575 accommodation requests from young people it simply could not assist.

I want to acknowledge what the 2026 budget got right. The $60 million national youth housing supplement, which fixes what advocates rightly call the youth housing penalty, is a genuine breakthrough. Because young people receive lower income support payments, it means housing providers have faced a financial disincentive to accommodate them. Only two per cent of social housing tenants are under 25, despite young people making up almost 15 per cent of those experiencing homelessness. This reform, which I and many others in this place advocated for, will unlock community housing for more than 4,000 young people, and that matters enormously.

I also welcome the continued delivery of the $9.3 billion National Agreement on Social Housing and Homelessness and the additional $100 million released from the Housing Australia Future Fund to improve housing for First Nations Australians in remote communities. But I will not pretend that this is enough. Even with all three rounds, the Housing Australia Future Fund is projected to deliver a total of 40,000 homes nationally, a fraction of the estimated shortfall of 640,000 social and affordable dwellings. The annual pipeline needs to be measured in tens of thousands, not thousands, through a long-term legislated commitment.

The path forward is not complicated. It requires sustained long-term federal investment in social and affordable housing, not as a safety net for when the market fails but as a permanent structural component of our housing system, as it was for decades after the war. Fourteen in 100 new builds were social housing after the war. That's where we were. It's less than two in 100 now. That's where we are. We know what we need to do, and I intend to keep pushing until we get there.

Debate interrupted.