Mitch Fifield (Victoria, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Contrary to what Senator Ludlam was seeking to perpetrate in the estimates committee last week, the government does have a housing minister. Minister Andrews is the minister responsible for housing. It is an area of priority for this government. This government will not necessarily receive advice from the same sources and in the same mechanisms as the previous government. It is up to each government to choose the mechanisms that best suit them. As Senator Ludlam would be aware, there was a decision of COAG to rationalise the number of ministerial councils from 22 down to about eight. While there will not be a dedicated ministerial council on housing, the federal housing minister will still work extremely closely with his state counterparts on these important issues. (Time expired)