Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Walker for that question and for her advocacy for young Australians. We are so very proud to have you here in the Senate with us. You are right; Australians have been waiting for progress on housing for far too long, and for 10 years those opposite did nothing while the housing crisis got worse. They didn't just do nothing; they didn't even have a housing minister in the cabinet for most of that decade.

But those on this side take this issue seriously because we know that housing costs are the source of anxiety for so many Australian family budgets. We know that the pressure of housing costs make it not only harder to get ahead but even harder to plan for the future. That's why this side of politics is investing $43 billion to build more houses and to increase supply. We are making progress. Under Labor, around half a million new homes have been built around the country. In this term, we are being even more ambitious, moving even faster to deliver more help to more Australians. The Prime Minister announced this morning that we would fast-track our election commitment to give all first home buyers access to five per cent deposits. The government will guarantee a portion of a first home buyer's home loan from 1 October 2025 so they can buy a home with a five per cent deposit and not pay for mortgage insurance, because those of us on this side want more Australians to buy their own home sooner, and with a lower deposit. Not only that; we are rolling out our Help to Buy shared equity scheme later this year for Australians on low and moderate incomes so more Australians can purchase a home with a lower deposit and a smaller mortgage, something Australians support but, clearly, those opposite do not.