Jordon Steele-John (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

Today I urge the Australian public and the members of this parliament to pay attention to the hypocrisy of this government. Today in the Senate we are debating the Defence Housing Australia Amendment Bill 2025, a bill that has been passed through the lower house without deep scrutiny or consultation from the Australian community. This bill seeks to provide public housing to US troops to support AUKUS military operations from 2027. These military operations centre around a permanent nuclear-powered submarine force, which will require US military personnel to be stationed in Australia, including off the coast of Fremantle on Noongar lands in my state.

If turning Garden Island, Meandup, into a military base and setting up a low-level nuclear waste dump isn't enough, today this bill outlines the Albanese government's commitment to building public housing for US troops who will be stationed in Western Australia. This government is trying to ram through legislation that has not released a financial impact statement, has not gone to a formal inquiry and does not detail how many taxpayer dollars will be put towards housing US troops. And yet, we are seeing their commitment to building public housing and providing a blank cheque to house the troops of the United States of America. This bill is yet another step towards AUKUS in that great journey begun by Scott Morrison, which ends with the complete transfer of our foreign and defence policy from the elected government of Australia to the administration of the United States. They will say, 'Jump,' and we will say, 'How high?' That is what AUKUS means. From day one, this political pact has been rightly criticised as a terrible deal in terms of economic cost and in terms of deliverability. For this government to have already committed to giving billions of public dollars to the United States is a disgrace. And now we are seeing our government go even further in committing to building public housing for US troops as well, all of this at a time when millions of Australians are struggling in the current rental and housing market and at the same time as our government announces further cuts to the NDIS. Yet what is their priority? Public housing for US troops. At the same time as so many in our community are struggling with the cost of energy and paying their power bills, what is the priority of this government? Public housing for US troops.

Last week, as part of the End Child Poverty campaign, I had the privilege of attending my local Centrecare branch in Mirrabooka. Community organisations like Centrecare provide crucial frontline supports to members of our community who need assistance with things like housing, mental health and crisis support. I want to say a huge thank you to you, the workers of this branch, and the workers across the many locations in our community that are supported by Centrecare. Day in and day out, you are dedicated to assisting vulnerable Australians. Your work is indispensable. During my visit, I heard from workers that poverty rates in this country are out of hand. Families are struggling to meet basic needs. We know that the impacts of inadequate and insecure housing on health and wellbeing affect the entire family, and we know that it is often kids that struggle most, that feel it most and that have their outcomes impacted.

Around 53,000 Western Australian households are currently experiencing homelessness, housing stress or living in overcrowded homes. As of May this year, WA has over 22,000 applications on hand for public housing, and the average wait time is nearly three years. Of these 22,000 applications, 7,000 are people on the priority waitlist. These are folks escaping domestic violence, experiencing homelessness or needing urgent accommodation due to disability or illness. Their wait time is dire. Yet let us roll out the red carpet, let us spare no expense, for US troops, for the United States Army, and for Donald Trump!

Australia lags behind other nations in terms of social housing supply. In WA only three per cent of housing stock is available to those on these waitlists, whereas social housing stock in places like the UK and the Netherlands totals 17 per cent and 34 per cent of all housing stock, respectively. Housing peak bodies, tireless advocates and workers in the sector are all saying the same thing: we need urgent action, we need bold intervention, and we need our government to commit to stronger housing policies that not only increase housing stock but also ensure housing is affordable and accessible to everyone. Instead of prioritising having a national conversation on rent caps or rent freezes, we have this bill that only benefits US troops.

Perth used to be Australia's most affordable city to live in, but figures from this year show that it is now the most unaffordable city for renters. Over the last five years, rent in Perth has gone up by 66 per cent. In the electorate of Swan, it has gone up by 72 per cent. In the electorate of Cowan, it has gone by 74 per cent. We saw a video recently go viral online because a rental inspection in Osborne Park saw 92 people lining up to view a single house. This is unacceptable. This is a national disgrace. We have hundreds of people competing for basic rentals. We have families, young people and pensioners all competing in a market that is so slim and so desperate. We have hundreds of people sleeping rough in the area surrounding Garden Island. The government is moving glacially to support them, yet it is likely this bill will move heaven and earth to build public housing for US troops or to house thousands of, in the words of the bill, 'international maintenance and support personnel associated with AUKUS'.

The question on everyone's mind is why the government is finding housing solutions for US troops but saying it's too difficult to find those solutions when it comes to supporting our own community. Why is this government not investing in our community's basic needs for housing, health care, disability supports and education? This is a choice. This is a conscious decision, and it is shameful. So, to recap, we have a government that is choosing to spend upwards of $300 billion on a submarine contract and an additional undisclosed amount in this newest bill to pay for housing developments for US military personnel within the context of a housing crisis that is putting Australians at risk of homelessness, poorer health outcomes and extreme distress.

Let us remind ourselves of this government's commitment to AUKUS in the very first place. A commitment to AUKUS includes parts of Australia becoming nuclear waste dump sites. It includes mass environmental disruption of our coastlines and potential for greater harm to our oceans. It includes a huge question mark over our sovereign capacity in relation to the military direction of the United States and therefore the Trump administration. It requires Australian taxpayers forking out a couple of billion dollars to help the US improve their own submarine manufacturing capabilities without guarantee the Australian government will ever actually receive anything in return, certainly not a submarine. All of this, and the Australian government is actively denying the people the chance to have either the AUKUS decision or the Defence Housing Australia Bill reviewed under inquiry.

The Greens are our community. For years the Greens and the community have been pushing to have this Labor government deliver housing to the community, to deliver supports to the community and to critically analyse AUKUS. It is incredible that the first time public housing is brought up in this parliament, it is not for the benefit of our communities but for the benefit of the US government, who continue to be driven by a US military industrial complex with Donald Trump at the helm.

The Australian Greens will be voting against this bill. We will continue to campaign with the community to see that the billions of dollars in public funds are invested in the healthcare and housing supports and services the community need—to ensure that no person in this country goes to sleep at night without a roof over their head, that no-one fleeing family or domestic violence is ever forced to endure such a situation because the waitlist for a safe home is too long and that no child is ever forced to try to get an education and learn while living in a car. In Australia in 2025, these are our priorities. That is who we would put ahead of the needs of Donald Trump, and proudly so. I condemn this bill. It brings this parliament lower. It sullies us to consider it. It shames this government to be its promoter. You should take a long, hard look in the mirror, the lot of you, and study the reflection you find there.

A quorum having been called and the bells having been rung—